Articles & Case Studies
Our recent work
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China’s App-Packing Industry and U.S. App Security
Aug 31, 2026
An analysis of how app packing grew into a sophisticated commercial industry dominated by Chinese vendors. We examine how hardened Android apps could affect software auditability and U.S. app security.
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Kunlun, and the Effects of CFIUS Ruling on Chinese Dependencies in Grindr
Jul 12, 2026
We explore how Grindr’s code and third-party dependencies changed before, during, and after the U.S. government forced its Chinese owner to divest the company. We examine which Chinese-operated services disappeared, what remained, and how new dependencies later re-entered.
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Telegram and the Politics of Digital Dependence
May 31, 2026
Through Russia’s long and contradictory relationship with Telegram, we explore how digital dependence hardens into infrastructure and why sovereign control becomes difficult once a platform is woven into state and social life.
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Journey to the Center of the Stack
May 22, 2026
By descending through the layers of the technology stack, we analyze how digital power is built through dependencies that are often invisible until they become politically consequential.
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Appthropology: Apps as a Lens for the Global Political Economy
Oct 12, 2025
We introduce why apps should be studied as high-frequency signals of political economy, revealing how sanctions, regulation, ownership shifts, and technical dependencies leave measurable traces in software.
