Make technology serve you, not use you.
Online safety cannot be an afterthought.
India is one of the fastest-growing digital markets in the world, with rapid digitisation of services and high AI adoption. Yet, only 38% of households are digitally literate, leaving users exposed to a range of techno-social harms such as misinformation, scams, harassment, privacy breaches, child sexual abuse & exploitation, teen mental health issues, addiction, discrimination, targeting & manipulation, and other emerging harms from AI systems. In 2025 cybercrime rose by 24%, and Indians lost over ₹22,495 crore to online scams. Reported online crimes against women and children increased by 118% between 2020-2024.
Very few civil society organisations in India work to protect users’ digital rights and autonomy. And we struggle to keep up the fight given the lack of resources. India continues to be experimentation ground for extractive tech platforms from the Global North, making Information Literacy & Responsible Tech development a need-of-the-hour to help build Indians’ resilience in the online ecosystem, as we march on the path of technological progress.
About CDF
Citizen Digital Foundation is a Kerala-based non-profit organisation, registered as a Section 8 company, under the Indian Companies Act. Our work spans sessions, awareness programmes, workshops, collaborations, developing and mapping resources and landscape, secondary research, reports, and policy advisory, all with one mission - Make technology serve you, not use you.
The layers and intersections of this challenge call for end-user awareness, business accountability, and informed policy action – the 3 areas that CDF strives to address. Our communications and projects are uniquely designed to make the complexities and jargon more accessible, and translate them to fun, creative analogies and activities for engaging interactions and effective outcomes.
80G: Unique Registration Number: AAJCC6683R25KC02 w.e.f 03/11/2025.
80G means whoever donates to the CDF can get a deduction of up to 50% with or without restriction, on the amount they donate to CDF.
12A: Unique Registration Number: AAJCC6683R25KC01 w.e.f 11/04/2025.
12A certification means CDF is a social impact organisation and is not required to pay taxes for the money they receive as donations.
Important note:
- Your Name and PAN details are required to generate your Tax Receipt. Exemption under Section 80G (Unique Registration Number: AAJCC6683R25KC02 w.e.f 03/11/2025)
- We file a statement of donations in Form 10BD with CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes), Government of India, at the end of each financial year. CBDT will issue the Donation Certificate in Form 10BE individually to the donors.
- Only Indian citizens can make a contribution to Citizen Digital Foundation.
How your donation helps
We are committed to equipping people to use the opportunities provided by technology to their advantage, while building the critical thinking required to avoid harms and build resilience. At the same time we also demand accountability and transparency frtom tech platforms and businesses that prioritise profits over people and keep users in the dark.
By donating to Citizen Digital Foundation, you will be supporting the Good Tech Movement to make technology safer, more responsible and equitable for Indians.
How donating to CDF helps you
- Your donation is eligible for tax exemption under section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act. This deduction can be claimed by any Indian taxpayer – individuals, company, firm or any other person.
- You become a part of the online safety movement at a time when few look beyond the obvious.
Glimpses of our work and outcomes:
- Good Tech Squad in schools.
- Kerala Police Cyberdome has partnered with CDF and adopted Good Tech Guru (ToT programme) and Mental Health First Responder (peer-support programme) to be rolled out across schools in all districts of Kerala.
- A custom CDF Good Tech intervention at a hospital led to 62 households reporting at least one positive change in children’s screen usage at the end of 6 months.
- A resource-rich webpage for Good Tech Campaign for easy access and implementation of online safety programmes in schools.
- Litt – a free information literacy platform
- Prototype forMargi – India’s one stop against online harms
- A free AI governance assessment tool based on 5 global frameworks.
- Piloted STEM Femme fellowship programme that generated ₹37,500 in participant income and facilitated more opportunities.
- One of CDF’s Youth Dialogue Forum mobilised 69 public responses to the DPDPA rules from Trivandrum, which was submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- Organised insights on generative AI use, children’s online well-being issues.
- Published reports and papers on online safety and responsible AI that CDF applied at policy consultations for India’s DPDPA and AI governance guidelines, and showcased on global participatory research forums.
CDF Donors
