What’s Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat?
Jack Dorsey’s new app may revolutionize offline communication — and for good cause. The founding father of Twitter and Block’s CEO has launched a pilot of Bitchat, a revolutionary new messaging app working fully with out an web connection.
What was initially a weekend challenge for Dorsey is rapidly evolving right into a compelling proof-of-concept. It has the potential to supply actually decentralized, censorship-resistant communication, all of which is popping heads within the tech world and worrying governments.
Bitchat was launched in beta on July 7, 2025, and maxed out its 10,000 TestFlight slots inside a matter of hours. It instantly exhibits an curiosity in an offline communication resolution like this.
The app isn’t only a technical experiment, although. It exhibits a step into the long run the place communication may exist even when conventional infrastructure fails or faces censorship. In an more and more monitored digital world, a censorship-resistant communication instrument is piquing the curiosity of many customers.
How does the Bitchat offline messaging app work?
Bitchat works on a decentralized peer-to-peer messaging system that operates over a Bluetooth Low Vitality (BLE) mesh community. Which means it doesn’t require servers, web, cellphone numbers or centralized infrastructure.
In easy phrases, it runs on completely different rules in comparison with conventional messaging apps like WhatsApp. It removes the necessity for cell towers and WiFi networks, as a substitute making a decentralized mesh of Bluetooth.
As proven within the picture above, the mesh community makes use of BLE to relay messages throughout nodes inside 30 meters. Alice’s message to Dave hops via intermediate gadgets (Bob and Carol) to succeed in its vacation spot.
Each system that runs Bitchat features each as a messaging consumer for the consumer and a server. This creates a mesh topology. Right here’s the way it works:
- If you ship a message, it doesn’t journey on a mobile phone or web community to a distant server. It hops immediately between your system and close by Bitchat customers, who then relay it additional till it reaches its remaining vacation spot. It’s a bit like a high-tech Chinese language whisper.
- This message-hopping method requires direct Bluetooth vary between gadgets of roughly 30-100 meters. Utilizing a store-and-forward system, messages can journey past this Bluetooth vary. For instance, if a recipient is offline quickly, messages will be cached and saved on close by gadgets, then delivered to the recipient when reconnected to the mesh.
Key technical elements
There are some key technical elements that allow Bitchat to function on this peer-to-peer method:
- Peer-to-peer structure: There’s no single level of failure with every system appearing as each a sender and a relay node. Counting on lots of or 1000’s of nodes creates decentralization the place networks can’t be introduced down by a single assault or outage.
- Message hopping: Knowledge packets can leap as much as seven instances via the networked gadgets, with every system including routing data to construct environment friendly paths.
- Finish-to-end encryption: Messages use X25519 key trade and AES-256-GCM encryption. So, whereas knowledge passes between a number of gadgets, solely the recipient and the sender can learn the message.
- No persistent identifiers: Random peer IDs are generated for every session to guard consumer privateness. So, every time you open the Bitchat app, it gives your system with an ID. There’s no persistent cellphone quantity or e-mail.
Do you know? The worldwide messaging safety market is projected to leap from $8.56 billion in 2024 to $20.41 billion by 2029. Extra customers and organizations are demanding privacy-first options in response to rising regulatory oversight and cyber threats.
How you can use the Bitchat decentralized messaging app
Proper now, Bitchat isn’t an official app within the iOS or Android shops. It’s accessible as a beta model for iOS gadgets utilizing Apple’s TestFlight, which is a platform used to check apps earlier than launch on the official app shops, though this beta model has already reached most capability.
The group on GitHub has additionally created an unofficial Android model, which is obtainable to make use of. However Android customers might want to sideload the app, which entails downloading the APK file from GitHub and putting in an unknown app out of your browser.
- To begin utilizing Bitchat, it’s refreshingly easy. There aren’t any laborious cellphone numbers, account creation or private data to offer.
- As soon as loaded, the Bitchat software begins searching for close by friends on the Bluetooth mesh. You’ll be routinely given a nickname similar to “anon1234,” which may later be personalized.
- For many who have used traditional chat rooms prior to now, you’ll be accustomed to the IRC-style command interface. As soon as linked to close by customers, you can begin chatting with others even should you’re in an space with out cell protection or web. Your messages are relayed via the Bluetooth mesh community.
The privacy-first design additionally has an emergency wipe characteristic the place you may triple-tap to clear all native knowledge immediately.
Do you know? Jack Dorsey’s firm, Block, owns over 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) and processes BTC gross sales via its Money App — all indicators of Dorsey’s choice for constructing decentralized monetary infrastructure.
Bitchat use circumstances, defined
Bitchat is greater than only a gimmicky messaging app or try and keep away from surveillance. Dorsey outlines a number of vital use circumstances, together with:
Catastrophe coordination
In situations the place cell towers fail, similar to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Bluetooth-style mesh networks may enable for maintained group connection and emergency providers connection throughout disasters. Notably for emergency responders, the worth of mesh networking could possibly be crucial when conventional networks collapse.
Occasion overflows
When there are giant gatherings similar to festivals or protests, cell networks can typically be overwhelmed and even be nonexistent in locations with poor protection. Mesh growth helps prolong the vary of communication, successfully stretching networks throughout a complete occasion area. It may enable attendees to type topic-based channels for messaging with out web entry and ship crucial bulletins for group coordination.
Checkpoint sync
In areas with censored or intermittent web, customers can proceed chatting and sharing data utilizing Bluetooth even when they solely have temporary home windows of connectivity to the web. Periodic sync can even enable any system in a mesh to briefly regain web entry at a checkpoint like a WiFi hotspot after which synchronize particular channels or messages with the broader community.
Cross-community bridges
Separated communities in geographically associated areas, like villages, may talk with out counting on centralized infrastructure. It may provide coordination, useful resource sharing and collective decision-making throughout locations which might be unreachable through the web. Though the system permits for transferring out and in of a mesh community in close by communities, for bigger distances, it turns into troublesome for lengthy journey instances, as messages are sometimes cached on a tool for 12 hours.
Do you know? An analogous Bluetooth messaging app known as Bridgefy noticed a 4,000% utilization spike throughout the Hong Kong protests, exhibiting the facility of offline, peer-to-peer messaging in defending towards censorship.
Mesh networks and the evolution of decentralized messaging
Bitchat may spark a broader transfer to include mesh networking applied sciences. Main tech corporations have already invested in mesh options, similar to Google’s Nest gadgets, which have mesh networking capabilities, whereas Starlink makes use of satellite tv for pc constellations to create a space-based mesh community.
Direct device-to-device communication provided by Bitchat goals to reduce dependence on telecom suppliers and enhances resilience throughout outages, censorship or catastrophe situations. In politically unstable areas or throughout web blackouts, such platforms may develop into crucial instruments free of charge expression and grassroots group.
For regulators, it raises some vital factors. With out a government and full encryption, it turns into difficult for regulation enforcement. As you might need seen with privacy-focused messaging apps like Telegram prior to now, regulation enforcement struggles to hint prison habits with fully personal encrypted messaging programs. The fast adoption of the app suggests there’s robust demand for decentralized communication instruments.
Nonetheless, as customers develop into extra acutely aware of knowledge possession and surveillance, decentralized messaging faucets into the rising want for autonomy. With no single level of failure or management, these programs are tougher to close down or censor. As mesh networking matures, you may even see a shift not simply in how messages journey, however in how individuals understand belief, privateness and management of their digital interactions.
