![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.jungle-journalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/images-85178739143056195929.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\nTwitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has launched a new messaging app that works without WiFi or phone service.<\/strong><\/p>\n Bitchat instead operates using a phone\u2019s Bluetooth signal, which allows users to communicate during situations like music festivals or protests where cell service is patchy or restricted.<\/p>\n Bluetooth typically has a range of around 100 metres, however Bitchat overcomes this technical limitation by using something called a Bluetooth mesh network, which relays messages through other users in the vicinity.<\/p>\n The service is completely decentralised and encrypted, according to a white paper detailing Bitchat, with the network not requiring a user\u2019s email address, phone number or an account to operate.<\/p>\n \u201cBitchat addresses the need for resilient, private communication that doesn\u2019t depend on centralised infrastructure,\u201d the app\u2019s white paper states.<\/p>\n \u201cBy leveraging Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networking, Bitchat enables direct peer-to-peer messaging within physical proximity, with automatic message relay extending the effective range beyond direct Bluetooth connections.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Dorsey shared details of the app in a post to X, revealing that it has a range of more than 300 metres through Bluetooth mesh networking, while no centralised servers means there is no tracking or data collection.<\/p>\n Messages also disappear by default, with optional group chats \u2013 referred to as \u201crooms\u201d \u2013 allowing users to interact with multiple people at the same time.<\/p>\n Future updates to the app could allow for faster and longer-range communication through WiFi networks, according to Mr Dorsey.<\/p>\n The peer-to-peer nature of the app aligns with other projects launched by Mr Dorsey in recent years, who has focussed on censorship-resistant technologies since leaving Twitter.<\/p>\n A beta version of the app is available on Apple\u2019s TestFlight for early users to test, before a wider roll out. The app on the app-testing service is already full since launching on Monday, meaning 10,000 people are already trying it out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n