Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has announced the beta launch of Bitchat , a decentralised, peer-to-peer messaging app to take on WhatsApp. Dorsey revealed over the weekend that the beta version is now live on TestFlight , with a detailed white paper available on GitHub.
The app is designed to work entirely over Bluetooth mesh networks , which means it requires no internet, central servers, phone numbers or emails, offering an off-grid communication method. Dorsey described the project on X as a personal experiment delving into "bluetooth mesh networks, relays and store and forward models, message encryption models, and a few other things."
How Bitchat works
Bitchat facilitates encrypted communication between nearby devices. As users move, their phones automatically form local Bluetooth clusters, passing messages from one device to another. This allows messages to reach peers beyond standard Bluetooth range, without Wi-Fi or cellular service.
“Bridge” devices play a role by connecting overlapping clusters, extending the mesh network across greater distances. Messages are stored only on individual devices, disappear by default and never touch any centralised infrastructure.
The app's launch builds upon Dorsey's previous support for decentralised platforms like Damus and Bluesky. Similar to the Bluetooth-based apps used during Hong Kong's 2019 protests, Bitchat is engineered to remain functional even when internet access is blocked, as per CNBC.
Bitchat also supports optional group chats, or "rooms," which can be named with hashtags and secured with passwords, the report added. It includes a "store and forward" feature, ensuring messages are delivered to users who are temporarily offline.
The report further noted that a future update is expected to add Wi-Fi Direct to further increase speed and range, pushing Dorsey's vision for off-grid, user-owned communication even further.
Unlike mainstream messaging platforms such as Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger, which rely on personal data, Bitchat operates entirely peer-to-peer, with no accounts, no personal identifiers, and no data collection.
The app is designed to work entirely over Bluetooth mesh networks , which means it requires no internet, central servers, phone numbers or emails, offering an off-grid communication method. Dorsey described the project on X as a personal experiment delving into "bluetooth mesh networks, relays and store and forward models, message encryption models, and a few other things."
How Bitchat works
Bitchat facilitates encrypted communication between nearby devices. As users move, their phones automatically form local Bluetooth clusters, passing messages from one device to another. This allows messages to reach peers beyond standard Bluetooth range, without Wi-Fi or cellular service.
“Bridge” devices play a role by connecting overlapping clusters, extending the mesh network across greater distances. Messages are stored only on individual devices, disappear by default and never touch any centralised infrastructure.
The app's launch builds upon Dorsey's previous support for decentralised platforms like Damus and Bluesky. Similar to the Bluetooth-based apps used during Hong Kong's 2019 protests, Bitchat is engineered to remain functional even when internet access is blocked, as per CNBC.
Bitchat also supports optional group chats, or "rooms," which can be named with hashtags and secured with passwords, the report added. It includes a "store and forward" feature, ensuring messages are delivered to users who are temporarily offline.
The report further noted that a future update is expected to add Wi-Fi Direct to further increase speed and range, pushing Dorsey's vision for off-grid, user-owned communication even further.
Unlike mainstream messaging platforms such as Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger, which rely on personal data, Bitchat operates entirely peer-to-peer, with no accounts, no personal identifiers, and no data collection.
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