Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, has introduced Bitchat, an experimental messaging app designed to work entirely offline using Bluetooth mesh networks.
The app requires no internet, servers, SIM cards, phone numbers, or email addresses, signaling Dorsey’s continued commitment to decentralization, privacy, and censorship resistance. It follows his previous support of platforms like Damus and Bluesky, both aimed at empowering users through decentralized technology.
Currently available in beta via TestFlight for iOS users, Bitchat enables encrypted, peer-to-peer communication between nearby mobile devices. As users move around, their phones create temporary local clusters, relaying messages through other devices that act as bridges. This allows communication to spread across broader distances without relying on centralized infrastructure.
Dorsey describes the project as a personal experiment in Bluetooth mesh networking, store-and-forward models, message encryption, and relay design. Its architecture is particularly well-suited for use in environments where internet access is limited or deliberately cut off—such as during blackouts, disasters, or under surveillance-heavy regimes.
Unlike traditional messaging apps, Bitchat does not rely on servers to store or route messages. Instead, messages are saved locally on users’ devices and disappear by default, reinforcing the app’s ephemeral and user-owned design. No account creation is necessary, which means there are no personal identifiers or metadata tied to usage.
The beta version currently supports encrypted one-on-one chats and group messaging through password-protected rooms that can be discovered via hashtags. It also includes store-and-forward functionality, which queues messages for delivery when temporarily offline devices come back into range. A future update is expected to add Wi-Fi Direct support to expand communication capabilities even further—still without relying on traditional internet access.
Bitchat draws clear inspiration from tools used by protesters in Hong Kong during 2019, who leveraged Bluetooth-based mesh networks to maintain communication while avoiding surveillance and censorship. Dorsey’s latest project channels that same spirit of resilience, offering a decentralized communication tool that can function when traditional systems are compromised.
With the app still in active development, Dorsey has made the open-source white paper available on GitHub, inviting developers and privacy advocates to explore and contribute to the underlying protocol. As concern grows over digital surveillance and the fragility of centralized systems, Bitchat positions itself as a timely and radical alternative built for the offline world.
