Walkie-talkie, but for text: Bitchat Jack Dorsey's another push to decentralise messaging

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Block CEO and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has unveiled a new peer-to-peer messaging app called Bitchat, which lets users send encrypted messages without internet, phone numbers, or central servers.

The app works over Bluetooth mesh networks, forming temporary local clusters between nearby phones. Messages hop device to device — like walkie-talkies, but for text — allowing communication even without Wi-Fi or cell signal.

Dorsey launched the beta version Sunday on TestFlight and shared a white paper on GitHub. He called it a personal experiment in mesh networking, encryption, relays, and offline communication models.

Messages on Bitchat are ephemeral, encrypted, and never stored on the cloud. They vanish by default and never pass through centralised infrastructure — a nod to Dorsey's long-running push for censorship-resistant platforms.

The app includes optional group chats or "rooms," protected by passwords and labeled with hashtags. It also supports store-and-forward delivery, so messages reach users who were temporarily offline.

Like the Bluetooth-based tools used during the Hong Kong protests in 2019, Bitchat is designed to function even in blackouts, surveillance zones, or shutdowns. 

A coming update will add WiFi Direct to boost speed and range.

Bitchat fits into Dorsey's broader movement to decentralise tech, which includes backing Bluesky, a federated alternative to Twitter, and Damus, a messaging app built on the Nostr protocol.

Unlike WhatsApp or Messenger, Bitchat requires no account, no phone number, and no data collection. It's built entirely peer-to-peer — reinforcing Dorsey’s vision of user-owned, off-grid communication.