Jack Dorsey's New Bitchat: Messaging Without Internet?
So, Jack Dorsey, the guy who started Twitter (now X), has been busy. It seems he's been dabbling in some interesting side projects, the latest being Bitchat, a private messenger app that doesn't need the internet to work.
Dorsey recently announced the beta launch of Bitchat, which uses mesh networks to send messages between users via Bluetooth. Think of it like Amazon's Sidewalk project, but for messaging. According to Dorsey, this app aims for decentralized and private communication without relying on internet infrastructure.
In a white paper on his Github page, Dorsey explains that Bitchat is designed for "resilient, private communication that doesn’t depend on centralized infrastructure." By using Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networking, it allows direct peer-to-peer messaging within physical proximity, with automatic message relay to extend the range beyond direct Bluetooth connections.
Decentralization has always been Dorsey's thing. It’s a big reason why he helped launch Bluesky, the decentralized microblogging alternative to X. While some argue about how decentralized Bluesky really is, it’s certainly more so than what Elon Musk has done with Twitter.
Mesh networks work by sharing power and digital resources between devices, kind of like a bandwidth co-op. This peer-to-peer messaging system relays messages from device to device while keeping everything encrypted. Dorsey says the service is private because it doesn’t require "phone numbers, emails, or permanent identifiers" and offers end-to-end encryption, which is great for privacy.
The fact that it doesn't rely on the internet is intended to make it "resilient to network outages and censorship," which sounds good in theory. However, since it's so new, we don't yet know how technically sound all of Dorsey's claims are. It's still unclear if the project will face restrictions like the need of having bluetooth always on, which may be a problem to some users.
Right now, Bitchat is similar to Bluesky when it first started: a cool experiment that shows promise but hasn't really proven itself. Dorsey doesn't always seem keen on taking a consistent executive role, and he seems happy to start projects and then move on (like when he left Bluesky just as it was gaining traction). However, Bitchat, like Bluesky, gives Dorsey and others the chance to head in a new direction, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think that innovation should always be praised, no matter what the outcome.
Source: Gizmodo