Open source
Open where it helps everyone.
Some of what we build makes every social network safer and fairer, not only ours. That part we share openly, as we go.
What we share
Privacy, safety, languages and maps.
The parts that raise the floor for everyone who builds with places and people.
Location privacy patterns
How to show that something is roughly nearby without showing where anyone is. Every app that uses location should be able to do this well.
Better maps, for everyone
Togra’s maps are built on OpenStreetMap. The places we fix and add, starting in Nairobi, go back to the map everyone shares.
Swahili and Sheng
Open tests of how well AI understands the way Nairobi really talks, so every model can get better at it, not only ours.
Accessible building blocks
The accessibility fixes we make to the open components we build on go back to the projects they came from.
How recommendations work
The rules our map and Feed follow: friends first, no engagement bait, and putting the phone down to go somewhere counts as a success.
Transparency reports
What we removed and why, and what authorities asked us for, published regularly in plain numbers.
What we keep, and why.
Openness should never cost the people on Togra their safety or their privacy.
- Anything that would help people cheat
- How Togra checks that someone is really at a place, and how it spots abuse, stay private. Publishing them would teach people to get around them.
- Anyone’s data
- People’s content, connections and places are theirs. They are never open data, and never for sale.
- The weights behind ranking
- We publish the rules our recommendations follow, not the numbers inside them, so they can’t be gamed.
- Togra itself
- The app, its design and its name are our craft. We share what raises the floor for everyone, and keep what makes Togra Togra.
The first releases are on their way.
We haven’t published code yet. When we do, it will be listed here, with how to use it and how to help. If you’d like to build or research with us, write to us.