Social media, crowdsourcing and satellite images enable us to gather information and pictures of the current situation on the ground, even in places that are hard to reach. Some technologies have become considerably cheaper and more flexible over time and are therefore affordable for a larger section of the world’s population. However, neither the potential to improve humanitarian assistance nor the associated risks of digitalisation have been sufficiently explored so far. There has also been little discussion of gender issues relating to digitalisation. One question is whether new technologies will reinforce old role models or offer opportunities for improving the position of women in traditional communities.