Block CEO and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey wrote in an X post on Sunday night time that he spent his weekend creating an app known as Bitchat (presumably a mixture of the phrases “bit” and “chat,” and never the other combination of words that it appears to be like like).
Bitchat is a messaging app that operates by Bluetooth mesh networks, permitting customers to ship messages with out Wi-Fi or cell reception. Due to Bluetooth’s technical limitations, this sort of app usually solely works at a spread of round 100 meters, making it helpful for conditions like discovering pals at a busy music competition the place cell service is spotty. Nonetheless, Dorsey claims that his app has an prolonged vary, relaying messages by friends to increase as much as 300 meters, or 984 toes.
Probably the most fashionable Bluetooth messaging apps, Bridgefy, was notably used throughout pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, since its capability to operate with out the web makes it more durable for Chinese language authorities to detect. Each Bridgefy and Bitchat say they’re end-to-end encrypted.
Coincidentally, Bridgefy is funded partially by one other Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone. However Dorsey’s newfound foray into growing Bitchat is sensible, given his long-term pursuits in decentralizing tech — he’s an enormous proponent of Bitcoin, and he initially based the undertaking that might develop into Bluesky whereas he was CEO of Twitter. Dorsey is now not affiliated with Bluesky because it operates now.
Dorsey opened Bitchat to beta testers through Apple’s Testflight, however the take a look at is now full after hitting its 10,000-user most. He mentioned on X that the app remains to be underneath review earlier than will probably be launched.
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