Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter (now X), has launched BitChat, a messaging app that lets users to send encrypted messages even when they don’t have internet access.
Dorsey unveiled the app, which is currently in early phases, in a post on X on Sunday.
He described it as a personal project centered on Bluetooth mesh networking, message encryption, and decentralized communication.
“My weekend project to learn about bluetooth mesh networks, relays and store and forward models, message encryption models, and a few other things,” he published.
The app’s beta version is presently available for iOS users via TestFlight, and the source code and white paper are available on GitHub.
How It Works
According to the literature provided by Dorsey, BitChat employs a store-and-forward architecture in which messages are transferred from one Bluetooth-enabled device to another until they reach their intended destination.
According to the document, the app offers end-to-end encryption, with messages encrypted using Curve25519 public keys and authenticated via the noise protocol framework (NPF).
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Its interface is simple, modeled after internet relay chat (IRC), a text-based system popular in the early internet period.
BitChat reflects Dorsey’s long-standing interest in decentralized technologies.
The American entrepreneur also invested in Bluesky, a decentralized social media app, before leaving the company’s board in May 2024.
He stepped down as Twitter CEO in 2021 to focus on Bitcoin infrastructure and digital payments through his business, Block, Inc. (previously Square).
