- Jack Dorsey’s Block launched Bitchat beta, a peer-to-peer chat app running fully on Bluetooth, inspired by 90s IRC-style messaging.
- Bitchat uses Bluetooth mesh networks with no servers or logins; messages relay device-to-device with end-to-end encryption and auto-delete.
- It’s ideal for offline use at protests or festivals; the open-source app quickly hit 10,000 TestFlight users, with a wider rollout planned soon.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block and Twitter’s co-founder, has unveiled a beta for Bitchat, a new peer-to-peer messaging tool that runs entirely on Bluetooth. He described it as giving off “IRC vibes”, referencing the old-school chat systems that defined early online messaging in the ’90s.
Bitchat works through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networks, linking nearby devices directly without any centralised servers, logins, or traditional sign-ups. What this means is that each phone acts as both sender and relay, pushing messages from device to device until they reach their target. Users don’t even need a phone number.
Related: Robust June Jobs Report Fuels Bullish Bitcoin Rally Toward $200K, Says 21Shares
Additionally, all chats are end-to-end encrypted and stored only in the device’s memory, vanishing by default. Group chats, which are called “rooms”, use hashtags and passwords, and messages can be handed off later if a user goes offline (store-and-forward style).
Bitchat Test Caps at 10,000 Users, Amid Wider Release Plans
All in all, the setup makes Bitchat useful where networks are down or blocked: festivals, protests, or any crowded spot where the signal dies. It can even thrive during intentional blackouts. Dorsey says the Bluetooth mesh can stretch to about 300 meters by hopping clusters together, however, it can be interrupted with a Bluetooth jammer, as Dorsey stated in the comments.
The app is open source and its whitepaper sits on GitHub. Beta slots on Apple’s TestFlight filled fast (the test cap hit 10,000 users) but Dorsey says a wider release is planned.
Related: IMF Says ‘No Thanks’ to Pakistan’s Plan for Rock-Bottom Power Rates for Crypto Miners
Credit: Source link
