Horizontal

What Horizontal does

Horizontal is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that designs, builds, and distributes open-source digital security tools for frontline human rights defenders, activists, election monitors, and journalists operating in repressive, surveilled, or low-connectivity environments. Its flagship product, Tella, is a cross-platform mobile application available on Android, iOS, and as a fully FOSS build on F-Droid; Tella enables encrypted capture of photos, video, and audio, supports a calculator-app camouflage mode, and synchronizes with Tella Web, a self-hostable server tool that organizations use to receive submissions, manage projects, and push resources to field devices. The organization also operates Shira, a web-based anti-phishing training platform launched in 2023 and substantially rebuilt as Shira 2.0 in May 2026, which lets educators build customized phishing quizzes rendered inside realistic simulated apps (Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook Messenger, Dating App) and supports learner tracking via "Spaces."

The organization runs a fully remote, distributed team of approximately 13 people across at least seven countries (including Malaysia, Argentina, Tunisia, Scotland, and the United States), with functional roles spanning design, mobile and server engineering, product, and programs. Its go-to-market is community-led and trust-mediated: distribution relies on app stores, the shira.app self-serve signup, digital security trainer networks, and partnerships with organizations such as Localization Lab (translation volunteers), Open Technology Fund (funder), The Engine Room (UX research), and Internews (sustainability support), as well as technology integrations with Uwazi, Open Data Kit, Google Drive, Nextcloud, Dropbox, and CoopCloud. Revenue mechanics combine donations and grants (a 501(c)(3) model), tiered Shira subscriptions (Starter free, Pro at $220/month, Enterprise custom), and consultancy fees from the 2025-launched Horizontal Labs arm; primary customer segments are individual activists and journalists (persona-based) and civil society NGOs and digital security trainers (B2B/B2NGO).

Adoption metrics relative to team size are material: Tella surpassed 100,000 cumulative downloads across Android and iOS by July 2025 with 17,000+ monthly active users concentrated in India, Myanmar, and Nigeria, and the app is localized in 24 languages as of April 2026. The organization faced an acute, near-existential funding crisis in February 2025 when the Trump administration's executive order freezing foreign assistance programs disrupted most of its secured grant pipeline, leaving it with less than three months of runway; this catalyzed both an emergency monthly-donor campaign and a strategic pivot toward Shira subscriptions and Horizontal Labs consulting as diversification away from single-source grant dependency.

Name

Horizontal

Legal name

Horizontal

Website

https://wearehorizontal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Horizontal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building open-source digital security and anti-phishing tools — Tella, Shira, and Tella Web — for frontline human rights defenders, activists, and journalists in repressive or low-connectivity environments, funded through grants, donations, subscriptions, and consultancy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Security Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Email Phishing & BEC Protection (HDADAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Secure/Encrypted Messaging (BPAMACAG)

Keywords

• Encrypted documentation software
• Mobile security tools
• Anti-phishing training
• Open-source privacy software
• Human rights technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Remote

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Horizontal is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 83-1782268) that relies primarily on donations and grants for funding. The organization faced an existential funding crisis when Trump administration funding freezes disrupted operations in 2025. They are seeking 250 monthly donors to support sustainability.
2. Shira Subscriptions: Shira anti-phishing training platform generates revenue through tiered subscription plans: Starter (free), Pro ($220/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Discounts available for small and mid-size non-profits.
3. Horizontal Labs Consulting: A full-service tech development consultancy offering software development, UX design, infrastructure management, and consulting services to mission-driven businesses and organizations seeking privacy-friendly, open-source, and ethical tech solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Horizontal develops and distributes open-source digital security software for at-risk individuals and organizations. Its flagship product Tella is a cross-platform mobile app (Android, iOS, F-Droid FOSS) that encrypts photos, videos, and audio, supports secure form-based documentation, and includes camouflage and offline features. The complementary product Shira is a web-based anti-phishing training platform offering customizable quizzes and simulated phishing scenarios for organizations.

Product overview

Horizontal develops a portfolio of privacy-focused digital security tools for at-risk communities. Its flagship product is Tella, a mobile app (Android, iOS, and F-Droid FOSS) for encrypting and securely documenting sensitive files. Tella is complemented by Tella Web, a server-side tool for organizations to receive and manage submitted reports. The second core product is Shira, a web-based anti-phishing training platform with customizable quizzes and learner management. Horizontal also developed Covid Diary for symptom tracking and offers Horizontal Labs, a tech consultancy service. The company also announced Nearby Sharing as an upcoming offline file transfer feature.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tella: A mobile app for Android and iOS that allows users to encrypt files, securely document events, and protect data from surveillance and repression in challenging environments.
• Shira
• Tella Web
• Tella FOSS
• Covid Diary
• Horizontal Labs

Products and services

• Tella Mobile application (Android, iOS) for securely capturing, encrypting, hiding, and documenting photos, videos, audio files, and form-based reports. Designed for journalists, human rights defenders, and activists operating in repressive environments with limited connectivity or risk of device seizure; includes camouflage features, offline capture, background submission, and integration with Tella Web, Uwazi, ODK, Google Drive, Nextcloud, and Dropbox.
• Tella Web Open-source, self-hostable server tool that enables organizations to centrally receive, manage, and analyze reports submitted from the Tella mobile app. Supports projects for data organization, user role management, auto-report, auto-delete, background submission, and distribution of resources to connected devices.
• Tella FOSS 100% free and open-source version of Tella Android distributed via F-Droid, free of proprietary libraries and dependencies. Includes core features such as Tella Web connection, opt-in privacy-preserving analytics, PDF viewing, image editing, and background encryption.
• Shira Web-based anti-phishing training platform that enables organizations and educators to create, deliver, and track customized phishing quizzes. Features Spaces for learner management, public and private quiz options, a question library in 5 languages, and simulated phishing displays inside Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook Messenger, and Dating App.
• Covid Diary Privacy-conscious mobile application that helps users keep a daily record of Covid-19 symptoms for themselves and loved ones, with data stored locally on the phone and no external access.
• Horizontal Labs Full-service tech consultancy offering software development, UX design, infrastructure management, and consulting for mission-driven businesses and organizations seeking privacy-friendly, open-source, and ethical technology solutions beyond the human rights community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100,000 downloads of Tella across Android and iOS
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Bachchao ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Collaborated with The Bachchao Project during a localization sprint to add Mizo language support to Tella, expanding accessibility for users in additional regions.
• Convocation Research+DesigncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 29 August 2025Convocation Research+Design conducted an intensive third-party security audit of Nearby Sharing before its production release. They worked to ensure the offline, encrypted file transfer feature is secure for users in high-risk environments.
• The Engine RoomcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 August 2025The Engine Room led UX research for Horizontal in collaboration with OTF User Experience & Discovery Lab. They provided recommendations for accessibility and usability improvements to Tella, including onboarding flow redesign.
• Localization LabcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 March 2024Localization Lab coordinates volunteer translators for Tella localization, enabling the app to be available in 24+ languages. They manage translation project managers and guide new contributors.
• UwazicoreTechnology or Integration · 20 July 2023Tella integrates with Uwazi for organizations that use Uwazi as their relational database. Users can send reports from Tella to Uwazi servers for data management.
• Open Data Kit (ODK)coreTechnology or Integration · 20 July 2023Tella integrates with Open Data Kit for organizations using ODK for forms and surveys. Supports file attachments, multiple form favorites, and various question types.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Guardian Project: Open-source mobile security tools designed for journalists, activists, and human rights defenders. Closely aligned mission with Horizontal—provides encrypted communications and privacy-preserving apps for at-risk users, similar community-driven distribution model.
• Hoxhunt: Human-driven anti-phishing training platform offering phishing simulations and gamified security awareness. Closely aligned with Shira's learner-centric, simulation-driven approach to phishing defense, though targeted at enterprises.
• OpenArchive: Nonprofit developing secure mobile documentation and archiving tools for human rights defenders. Directly comparable mission of enabling at-risk communities to securely capture, verify, and preserve evidence of human rights violations.

Broad incumbents

• Signal Foundation: Nonprofit that develops Signal, the leading end-to-end encrypted messaging app widely adopted by journalists and activists. Overlaps significantly with Horizontal's secure communication use case but is much larger and focused on messaging rather than documentation.
• Proton: Privacy-focused company offering encrypted email, VPN, and cloud storage. Overlaps with Horizontal's secure communications and data protection value proposition but operates a much larger commercial product suite targeting consumer and business privacy-conscious users.
• KnowBe4: Market-leading commercial security awareness and anti-phishing training platform. Directly comparable to Shira in core function (phishing simulation and training) but serves large enterprises with substantially more features and scale.
• Wire: End-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration platform. Compares to the secure communication aspect of Tella but focuses on enterprise and government customers rather than individual at-risk users in civil society.
• Cofense: Anti-phishing solutions provider focused on phishing detection, reporting, and conditional training. Comparable to Shira in the phishing simulation and training category but serves enterprise customers with broader security operations tooling.

Emerging players

• Terranova Security: Phishing awareness training provider offering customizable campaigns and security awareness content. Directly comparable to Shira in anti-phishing education functionality with similar customizable quiz-based training approach.

Others

• Martus (by Benetech): Benetech's secure mobile data collection and documentation tool for human rights defenders. Historically a peer to Tella in the secure documentation space for at-risk populations; functionally adjacent as both serve the same mission-driven user community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/horizontal_org
• Facebookfacebook.com/horizontalorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/horizontalorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/horizontalorg_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Horizontal