How Jack Dorsey’s new app lets you chat without the internet

Jack Dorsey's new app, called Bitchat, lets you chat without the internet by creating a decentralized mesh network using Bluetooth. Instead of relying on WiFi or mobile data, Bitchat enables phones nearby to directly send and receive messages over Bluetooth.

Each device acts as both a client and a server, relaying messages for one another, which allows communication even beyond typical Bluetooth range by hopping messages across phones. This eliminates the need for central servers, internet connections, phone numbers, or accounts.

The app offers end-to-end encryption and focuses on privacy and resilience. Messages are ephemeral, encrypted, and stored only on user devices, not on any centralized servers. It also supports password-protected group chats and features a "store-and-forward" mechanism that delivers messages to users who are temporarily offline once they reconnect to the mesh network. Future updates aim to include WiFi Direct for faster and longer-range communication.

This technology is important because it provides a way to communicate that is resistant to network outages, censorship, and surveillance, making it useful in areas with poor connectivity, government data restrictions, or during emergencies. It offers a new form of online freedom and privacy, disrupting traditional centralized messaging services like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. Currently, Bitchat is available in beta for iOS, with an Android version in development.

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