There have been many attempts to make chat apps that don't need an internet connection but rather use Bluetooth, Direct WiFi or even an external radio transceiver.
Just to name a few in no particular order (and there are so many more):
- Air Chat (ios only)
- Berty
- Briar
- Bridgefy (comes with adds)
- FireChat
- And now all over the news: BitChat (Android / iOS)
It is true that some of these apps have served a temporary service to people who needed to communicate without government interference.
But all these apps suffer from the same chicken-and-egg problems:
1. You need to download and install them before they become illegal, and before they are necessary. Most people are too lazy time efficient to be thinking so far ahead, and don't even have a go-bag in their home.
2. They only work if the person you want to talk to is also using it. And why would he? Other chat apps like Signal and Whatsapp work just fine, don't they?
It is no wonder then that all of these apps have been used by a select few, and afterwards have been abandoned because their mother wasn't on it and never was going to use it and who needs it anyways, are you suffering from persecution complex or something?
Sometimes there is a brief wake-up call for some. After the power outages in Spain and Portugal in the summer of 2025 me and a bunch of friends decided we didn't want to lose contact with each other in case that ever happens here. We bought a bunch of Meshtastic devices and set them up. But for some, the price is one hurdle too many. Investing in a device (even if it's just $50) is just too much to ask.
How do we combat this inertia? A few steps can be undertaken:
1. Make all these different chat apps interoperable. Instead of bickering over the best possible protocol or packet format or radio frequency, they should support as many as possible simultaneously.
2. Make them use the internet as default and only fall-back on Bluetooth, Wifi or external radio when necessary.
3. Be incorporated into an existing chat app with a large-ish user base. Signal is the only logical worldwide contender in my mind.
Off course, none of these steps will happen, so we are basically doomed to repeat the cycle of discovering a new chat app, installing it and abandoning it after a short while.
Footnote: BitChat seems to be on track to follow at least advice #2 and use the internet (as fall back, not as default) by cleverly utilizing the Nostr network.
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