Paskoocheh

Paskoocheh, Persian for "alleyway," is an app store, community hub, and a one-stop-shop for Iranians to access information and tools to circumvent censorship, securely communicate, and express themselves online.

In a region where authorities heavily restrict internet access, block major platforms, and sanctions limit access to global tools, we partner with developers and user communities to strengthen censorship resilience and ensure technologies continuously evolve to counter information controls and shutdowns. Paskoocheh allows users to download tools directly through one of four censorship-resilient channels (i.e. website, Android app, email bot, and Telegram bot).

Paskoocheh utilizes Iranian community support networks to:

• Conduct in-country user testing, relaying insights to developers to help improve the overall resilience and usability of circumvention tools.
• Disseminate accessible user guides, blog posts, and multimedia content to help users navigate best practices when it comes to online privacy and digital security.

Since Paskoocheh's launch in 2016, we've had over 17.5 million tool downloads, created an active community of 2,000+ members supporting localization and testing, and actively handle over 200 user tickets per day through Paskoocheh's help desk.