No internet? no problem: Ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey launches 'Bitchat' for decentralised messaging

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has launched Bitchat, a peer-to-peer messaging application that operates without the need for internet connectivity, phone numbers, or servers.

Bitchat, now available in beta via Apple’s TestFlight platform, enables users to exchange messages over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networks, allowing encrypted, ephemeral communication directly between nearby devices.

This could enable decentralised communication during network outages or in areas with poor infrastructure.

In a post on X, Dorsey shared the details of the technical architecture, which he released on GitHub in a white paper.

He described it as a “weekend project to learn about bluetooth mesh networks, relays and store and forward models, message encryption models, and a few other things.”

“Bitchat is a decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging application that operates over Bluetooth mesh networks. It provides ephemeral, encrypted communication without relying on internet infrastructure, making it resilient to network outages and censorship,” the white paper stated.

The system’s design emphasises user privacy, strong encryption with forward secrecy, and resilience through automatic mesh networking and message relay beyond direct Bluetooth range.

Messages are end-to-end encrypted and exist only in device memory by default, with no account creation, persistent identifiers, or metadata collection, according to the paper.

The project is released into the public domain as both a practical tool and a reference implementation for decentralised, privacy-preserving messaging systems.

Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter CEO in 2021 and has since focused on projects promoting decentralisation, called Bitchat a step towards resilient, infrastructure-independent communication that “works anywhere people gather.”

Dorsey had also conceptualised Bluesky, an open source network that allows individuals to select or even create the algorithms that shape their content feeds, making it a customisable and user-centric alternative to traditional social media.

He introduced the Bluesky project in 2019 when he was still the Twitter CEO, with an aim to build a decentralised standard for social media.