9 Human rights defenders said that simplicity, familiarity and ease of use were by far the most important criteria when choosing tools. Many used paper forms as their primary form of information capture. Software tools like Word and Excel were mentioned more than any others, while Google Drive and Dropbox were often mentioned as tools for sharing information and managing documents online. Many HRDs knew of the potential security risks associated with using tools like Google Drive (given Google’s collaboration with the US government), but chose to use it regardless. Tools for collaborating on documents and files across borders were particularly mentioned as a gap. Many organisations rely upon Google Drive for ease, needing a way of sharing and collaborating on the same document in close to real time. The ease of setup (signing up for a Google account) and the user friendly nature of the tools and support documentation, along with the reliability of the tools, made it a much more appealing choice for many than a self-hosted alternative. While the HRDs we spoke to worked throughout the world (from regions including South and South-east Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East), tool developers were generally based in Europe or the US. Many tool developers described putting considerable effort and thought into building tools specifically for HRDs, including user testing and, in some cases, co-creation with partner organisations. However, the HRDs we spoke to (many of whom fitted the profile of the tools’ intended users) found it hard to identify a tool that was right for them, and chose the tools that they did use in a relatively ad-hoc manner.1 It’s worth noting that this tendency is common in many other sectors, as shown by research from The Engine Room and Making All Voices Count. Most interviewees emphasised that many human rights defenders are working in environments where resources are scarce and where experience with technology is limited. In those contexts, HRDs were unaware of more complex, specialist technology tools, or found them difficult or impossible to use. 1 Tool Selection research by The Engine Room: https://toolselect.theengineroom.org/