Jack Dorsey’s New Bitchat App Enables Messaging Without Internet

Bitchat - The Internet-Free Messenger of the Future

Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and Block, just dropped a game-changing new app: Bitchat, a decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging platform that functions without internet access. Currently available for beta testing via Apple’s TestFlight, the app leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networking to send messages through encrypted, local device clusters.

Dorsey announced the launch Sunday evening, sharing both the whitepaper and TestFlight links. He called Bitchat a weekend learning project to explore mesh networks, relays, and end-to-end encryption—but the implications of this project go far beyond personal experimentation.

How Bitchat Works Without Wi-Fi or Cell Signal

Rather than relying on central servers or mobile data, Bitchat forms device-to-device mesh networks. Nearby phones (within ~30 meters) form “clusters,” and when any device enters a new area, it acts as a bridge, connecting different clusters. This lets messages hop across devices until they reach the recipient—like digital smoke signals hopping through a forest.

Messages are end-to-end encrypted, stored only in memory, and deleted automatically after 12 hours for regular peers. For favorite peers, messages are retained longer—but still with no server logs and no central record-keeping.

There’s no need to sign up with a phone number or email, making Bitchat more private than WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal.

Privacy-Centric Features Take Center Stage

To enhance plausible deniability, Bitchat injects dummy messages every 30 to 120 seconds, while also delaying real messages by 50 to 500 milliseconds. This clever system makes it nearly impossible to analyze traffic or track conversations.

Since each node (i.e., user device) only sees a time-to-live counter and message ID, there's no metadata, no tracking, and no user correlation. This architecture makes Bitchat perfect for protests, blackouts, and censorship-heavy environments where traditional communication channels may be monitored or offline.

Built for the Edge Cases—And the Future

Bitchat’s 12-hour message lifespan, no-cloud storage, and serverless design make it especially resilient in emergency zones or authoritarian regimes. The app is also an embodiment of Dorsey’s Web5 vision, pushing boundaries for Bitcoin-backed privacy tools and decentralized infrastructure.

It joins a growing list of privacy-first tech Dorsey has supported, alongside Bluesky, Nostr, and his Bitcoin-focused efforts at Block. While still in early development, Bitchat is already being hailed as a disruptive tool for free communication in offline environments.

Whether it evolves into a mainstream product or remains a niche solution for the digitally cautious, Bitchat reflects Dorsey’s deepening focus on decentralization, privacy, and censorship resistance.