The Mahsa Alert application helps Iranian citizens during the war, the shutdown of the Internet

As the US and Israel end the fifth week of war with Iran, some 93 million civilians living inside Iran are stuck in a conflict zone without a missile warning system or internet access. Some 4 million people of Iranian origin around the world are cut off from their friends and family in Iran.

While the Islamic Republic has left its people in the dark, Holistic Resilience, an engineering team focused on internet freedom, is using an app called Mahsa Alert to light the way.

This app is named after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in 2022 after being arrested by Iran’s “moral police”. The group regularly detains women it believes do not comply with the country’s laws on covering their hair. His death sparked widespread protests after decades of repression. Amini’s image is now a symbol of what has come to be known as the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

NY FED CHAIRMAN JOHN WILLIAMS WARNS IRAN-DRIVEN OIL SPIKE COULD DAMAGE ECONOMY

Holistic Resilience said it first noticed a lack of civilian protection during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025.

“They are checking the surroundings of the places near their loved ones to make sure that there is no place where these strikes could be directed and inform them to stay away from them,” said Ahmad Ahmadian, executive director of Holistic Resilience.

Using crowdsourcing and open source intelligence, volunteers analyze around 100 tips per day to ensure relevance and accuracy. These messages can come in the form of social media videos or pictures or messages on Telegram. They also shut down about 18,000 CCTV cameras across the country.

As the 17th largest country in the world by area, Iran presents a major mapping challenge.

“We have to wake up to be able to push that notification immediately. The last one, I think, is midnight,” Ahmadian said. “I have colleagues who work almost 16 hours a day on this project. We have been funding this project from the beginning, and we have not stopped doing that despite all the challenges. The reason for that is because it is something that people need to have, and it saves lives.”

Internet connectivity in Iran is estimated at less than 1%. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

IRAN GUARD BEACHING 12-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN, PUTTING THEM ON THE FRONTLINES OF THE WAR.

The Israel Defense Forces periodically posts evacuation notices on its Farsi-language account X. Previous posts from the account show warnings such as: “In the coming hours, the IDF will operate in the area, as it has done in recent days across Tehran, to strike the military infrastructure of the Iranian regime. For your safety and well-being, we ask that you immediately leave the area indicated on the map.”

With internet connectivity in Iran estimated at less than 1%, Israeli evacuation notices often fail to reach the citizens they are intended to serve.

Residents moving to unfamiliar cities or towns can use the Mahsa Alert app as an essential way of life, identifying hospitals, blood banks, government checkpoints or shelters offline.

“We realized, well, when people start wandering and running away, they need to see important things, and important places,” Ahmadian said.

The Iranian government prioritizes its goals beyond its borders over its own people, according to Holistic Resilience.

KEVIN O’LEARY WATCHES GLOBAL POWER SHIFT ON HORMUZ LINE AS IRAN CONTINUES TO RISE OIL MARKETS

“Instead of sounding alarm bells, sending warnings of disaster to many people, every day they send messages of the Ministry of Intelligence threatening people, [saying] if you share information with others, we will know about it and we will follow you,” said Ahmadian.

As the 17th largest country in the world by area, Iran presents a major mapping challenge. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The government has accused those who provide information on the platform of working as spies for Israel or gathering intelligence for the US military. The group has been attacked by the Iranian government, with hacking and deliberately sending false information to undermine the group’s credibility. Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 reported a widespread increase in cyberthreat activities by Iranian actors since the conflict began in late February.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO

In another incident, Ahmadian said the point where missiles were allegedly fired was launched at a building, which the group later identified as a dormitory for girls at the university. He said the group believed the point was intended to mislead the target audience, giving the Iranian government ammunition for its anti-Israel and anti-US media campaign, although this could not be independently verified by FOX Business.

“By increasing the number of casualties, they are increasing their propaganda war,” Ahmadian said. “This is not our war. This has never been our war.”