Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Launches Offline Messaging App ‘Bitchat’: Everything You Need To Know

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has quietly unveiled Bitchat, a new messaging application designed to function entirely offline. Built over the weekend as a personal project, Bitchat leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networking to enable secure, peer-to-peer communication without the need for Wi-Fi, mobile data, or even personal identifiers.

Dorsey announced the app on X (formerly Twitter), noting it as an experiment in decentralised communication. Unlike traditional messaging platforms, Bitchat requires no phone number, email, or account setup. Instead, devices link directly to one another through short-range Bluetooth signals, with each phone acting as both sender and receiver.

While standard Bluetooth connections typically max out at around 100 meters, Bitchat extends its reach to approximately 300 meters (984 feet) using a mesh system. Messages can hop across multiple nearby devices, enabling delivery even when sender and recipient aren’t in direct range.

The app is currently in beta through Apple’s TestFlight, where it quickly reached its 10,000-user capacity limit. Dorsey stated the app is still under review ahead of a broader rollout. Someone even ported it to Android as well.

Bitchat’s infrastructure is fully decentralised and server-free, making it highly resistant to censorship or connectivity disruptions. Messages are stored temporarily in device memory and delivered once the recipient reappears on the mesh. Standard messages auto-delete after 12 hours, though users can mark some as “favourites” to retain them indefinitely.

Security is a core focus, with end-to-end encryption provided by a combination of Curve25519 elliptic curve cryptography and AES-GCM encryption. The app also supports features like user mentions and topic-based chat rooms—similar to Discord channels. Rooms can be protected with passwords for added privacy.

The app has garnered a lot of interests as users continue to look for secure alternate ways to communicate with each other privately.

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