Chat with anyone, anywhere, just use your phone’s Bluetooth — with Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat

Jack Dorsey, the enigmatic tech visionary who gave the world Twitter (now X) and the payments juggernaut Block, is back with a new digital experiment that’s as radical as it is retro: Bitchat. 

Imagine a messaging app that refuses to play by the rules of the internet, phone numbers, or even centralised servers. 

That’s Bitchat — a peer-to-peer platform that lets you chat with anyone, anywhere, using nothing but your phone’s Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and a dash of cryptographic flair.

The birth of Bitchat

Dorsey is never one to shy away from shaking up the status quo, spent a weekend tinkering with Bluetooth mesh networks and emerged with Bitchat. 

He announced the app on X, describing it as a “personal experiment” in alternative connectivity — a way to keep people talking even when the internet is down, censored, or simply unavailable.

10,000-tester limit hit

Within hours, the beta version on Apple’s TestFlight maxed out its 10,000 tester limit, with curious users eager to try a messaging app that doesn’t ask for a phone number, registration, or even an email address. 

Instead, Bitchat generates random peer IDs each time you use it, keeping your identity as ephemeral as your messages.

How does Bitchat work?

• Bluetooth mesh networking: Devices within about 30 meters form clusters, relaying encrypted messages from one to another. As people move, their devices can bridge clusters, allowing messages to travel far beyond standard Bluetooth range — think digital walkie-talkies with superpowers.

• No internet, no problem: Bitchat works entirely offline. No Wi-Fi, no mobile data, no servers. Perfect for music festivals, disaster zones, or anywhere Big Brother might be watching.

• Privacy first: Messages are end-to-end encrypted and stored only on your device, vanishing after a short time. No data collection, no tracking, and no persistent identifiers.

• IRC vibes: Channel-based group chats, password-protected rooms, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a protocol used for real-time text-based communication. IRC-style commands bring a nostalgic twist to the ultra-modern tech.

Why now? Dorsey’s decentralised dream

Bitchat isn’t Dorsey’s first foray into decentralised communication. He’s championed platforms like Bluesky and Nostr, all in pursuit of digital sovereignty. 

With Bitchat, he’s doubling down on the idea that communication should be free from corporate or governmental control — a message that resonates in an era of internet shutdowns and privacy scandals.

What’s next?

The beta is iOS-only for now.

But the protocol is open-source and “platform-agnostic”, i.e. it paves the way for Android versions and more. 

Future updates promise Wi-Fi Direct support for longer range and richer media sharing.

In true Dorsey fashion, Bitchat is a bit raw, a bit early-Twitter vibe, and a whole lot of fun. 

It’s a bold reminder that sometimes, the best way to move forward is to go off the grid — one encrypted message at a time.