Internet shutdowns in Iran and Uganda have fuelled a surge in downloads of Bitchat, a messaging app created by former Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

The communications app works without the Internet or central servers. Users are not required to share phone numbers or email IDs.

The decentralised, peer-to-peer messaging app recently rose to the top of Apple’s and Google’s app stores in Uganda ahead of a contentious election, which ultimately resulted in the return of President Yoweri Museveni for a seventh term.

The app, which was announced in July 2025, recorded more than 28,000 downloads this year, according to research firm Apptopia — representing a nearly fourfold increase over the previous two months combined. In Iran, the app has gained popularity as authorities impose Internet shutdowns to curb nationwide protests.

Dorsey’s “weekend project” from last year uses Bluetooth to relay messages, specifically via the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol, which can reach theoretical distances of around 300 metres under ideal conditions. Beyond that, mesh technology comes into play. Any device running the app can automatically form a mesh network that relays messages and extends overall coverage.

Available on both Android and iPhone, each phone with the app acts as both a sender and a relay, creating a network that extends far beyond Bluetooth’s individual range. Messages hop from device to device until they reach their destination.

Messages are stored only on the device, disappear by default, and never touch centralised infrastructure, echoing Dorsey’s long-standing push for privacy-preserving communication.

Unlike mainstream messaging platforms such as Meta’s WhatsApp, Bitchat is free and open-source, allowing anyone to contribute to improving the project’s security. Developers can also “fork” it and create their own versions of Bitchat with additional
features.

In a post from 2025, Dorsey said he created the project “to learn about Bluetooth mesh networks, relays and store-and-forward models, messaging encryption models, and a few other things”.

Such technology can be useful at crowded events where mobile networks are overwhelmed, during demonstrations, or for journalists seeking to protect their sources. It can also prove valuable during grid blackouts, such as the one Spain experienced last year.

The app’s surge without log-ins is a reminder of how technology has been used by protestors in the past — from Twitter during the Arab Spring in 2011 to Bridgefy, which used similar technology during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests in 2019-20.