Bitchat: Offline End-to-End Encrypted Messaging App from Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter (now X) and CEO of Block, has just released Bitchat, a peer-to-peer messaging app without internet, powered by a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh network.
Designed for blackout situations, censorship, or internet outages, such as natural disasters, demonstrations, or large festivals.
Dorsey calls this an experiment in technologies like “Bluetooth mesh, relays, store-and-forward models, and encrypted messaging.”
Bitchat works by forming a mesh network, where each device acts as a relay node, extending the range up to more than 300 meters through device-to-device hops.
The “store-and-forward” system allows messages to be temporarily held on certain nodes and forwarded when the recipient comes back into range.
High-Level Security and Privacy
End-to-end encryption uses a combination of Curve25519 and AES-GCM, ensuring only the recipient can read the messages.
There is no central server, no accounts, phone numbers, or emails required; messages are stored only on the user’s device and disappear by default after being sent.
User metadata is anonymized, and the app does not collect any identifiable data.
Messages are segmented (max ~500 bytes per packet) to handle BLE bandwidth limitations. Ephemerality mode: messages are stored only in the device's RAM, unless the user explicitly chooses to save them. Chat rooms are organized like classic IRC, complete with hashtags and password protection options.
Bitchat is not just an ordinary messaging app; it marks a technological step toward decentralized and resilient communication. No central infrastructure, Strong encryption, Self-sustaining mesh network.