It’s called Bitchat and is based on “Bluetooth mesh network” technology.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has developed a new messaging app that, according to him, does not need an internet connection or phone numbers. This clearly reflects the entrepreneur’s fascination with decentralized technologies, writes Inc.com.
On Sunday, Dorsey wrote on X that he had spent the weekend exploring “Bluetooth mesh networks” – technology that allows devices to communicate with each other without Wi‑Fi or any other internet infrastructure. He then posted a GitHub link to Bitchat’s technical project description. There, the app is described as a tool “for ephemeral, encrypted communication without dependence on internet infrastructure, making it resilient to network disruptions and censorship.”
Devices operating in Bluetooth mesh networks usually communicate within a certain physical distance – typically up to a few hundred feet (~100 m) in radius. This technology is particularly useful for finding friends at a music festival when Wi‑Fi is overloaded or down, as well as for rescue services in emergency situations. It is also noted that a group of devices using Bitchat can, in theory, relay a signal over a greater distance than a standard Bluetooth connection.
The ephemerality of Bitchat messages makes it similar to encrypted apps like Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp, where users can set messages to be automatically deleted after a certain time. The document states that no registration or phone number is required – a random user identifier (peer ID) is generated for each session. The beta version has already hit the 10,000 download limit after Dorsey made it available through Apple TestFlight.
Unlike WhatsApp, Bitchat is an entirely new project that is not dependent on any parent company’s rules and policies. (WhatsApp is owned by Meta.)
This is already Dorsey’s third attempt to create a decentralized project. The 48‑year‑old entrepreneur is the CEO of the financial technology giant Block. Block owns several smaller companies, such as Cash App and Square. Dorsey is a Bitcoin supporter, and Block is one of the largest holders of this cryptocurrency in the world – with more than 8,000 BTC (about 900 million dollars) on its balance sheet.
Dorsey also helped create the decentralized social network Bluesky, which allows users with programming skills to build their own networks on a shared infrastructure – the AT Protocol. In 2024, Dorsey left Bluesky’s board over disagreements about its direction, especially regarding content moderation. And, of course, Dorsey is widely known as the co‑founder of Twitter in 2006.
If you want to try Bitchat right away, you will have to wait. The app is not yet ready for a full launch. On Monday, Dorsey added in a follow‑up post that Bitchat is currently “under review.”
This article was translated with an artificial intelligence tool and has not been edited.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/twitter-lidzdibinatajs-dzeks-dorsijs-izveidojis-messendzeri-kas-darbojas-bez-interneta/
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