Jack Dorsey launched Bitchat in July 2025, a decentralized messaging app that ditches the internet entirely. The app uses Bluetooth mesh networking to connect devices, requires zero personal info, and collects no data whatsoever. It maxed out 10,000 beta slots instantly because, apparently, people are fed up with surveillance-heavy platforms. End-to-end encryption, open-source code, and password-protected rooms make it a privacy advocate’s dream. There’s more brewing beneath this digital rebellion.
Jack Dorsey dropped another bombshell on the tech world in July 2025, but this time it wasn’t about Twitter drama or Bitcoin tweets. The former Twitter CEO launched Bitchat, a decentralized messaging app that basically tells the internet to go pound sand. What started as a weekend project turned into something much bigger when it maxed out 10,000 TestFlight beta slots within hours of its July 7th release.
Here’s the kicker: Bitchat doesn’t need internet or mobile data. At all. The app uses Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networking to connect nearby devices directly, creating a web of phones that act like network nodes. Messages hop from device to device, extending range up to 300 meters. It’s like playing telephone, but with actual encryption and without the government listening in.
The privacy features are where things get interesting. No phone numbers, no logins, no accounts required. Zero data collection or tracking. Everything runs on end-to-end encryption, and the open-source model means anyone can peek under the hood. Unlike other mesh apps like Bridgefy, Bitchat cranks up the encryption protocols and ditches centralized identifiers entirely. The app enhances security through automatic key rotation, regularly changing encryption keys to prevent unauthorized access. Users can create password-protected rooms for enhanced security, isolating sensitive conversations from public channels.
Dorsey designed this thing for when everything goes sideways. Natural disasters, government blackouts, censorship crackdowns – you name it. Activists and journalists in oppressive regimes could theoretically communicate without Big Brother cutting the cord. The store-and-forward architecture caches messages until recipients are reachable, so temporary offline periods don’t kill your conversations.
The technology creates a self-healing network that reconfigures as devices join or leave. No servers, no single points of failure, no corporate overlords deciding who gets to talk. It’s peer-to-peer communication stripped down to its essence.
Whether Bitchat becomes the next big thing or fades into tech obscurity remains to be seen. But Dorsey’s timing feels deliberate. As governments worldwide tighten digital screws and privacy concerns mount, an app that operates completely outside traditional infrastructure starts looking less radical and more necessary.
The beta response suggests people are hungry for alternatives to the surveillance-heavy platforms dominating their digital lives.
