The Mesh Network Revolution: Decoding Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat App and the Blueprint for Sovereign Communication

Written by Norman Wankowski 9 August 2025 [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0]

In July 2025, the digital communication landscape underwent a fundamental shift when Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and CEO of Block, Inc., unveiled his latest project, Bitchat. This decentralized, peer-to-peer free messaging application represents the culmination of Dorsey’s long-standing fascination with censorship-resistant protocols and his vocal advocacy for digital sovereignty. Unlike traditional messaging platforms that rely on centralized servers, cellular data, or even a basic internet connection, Bitchat operates through a sophisticated Bluetooth Low Energy mesh network. By leveraging the hardware already present in modern smartphones, the application creates an ad-hoc, self-healing communication web where each device acts as both a client and a relay node. This architecture ensures that as long as users are within physical proximity to one another, they can maintain a secure and private dialogue regardless of the status of global infrastructure.

"Bitchat is a decentralized peer-to-peer messaging application that operates over bluetooth mesh networks. No internet required, no servers, no phone numbers [...]." Bitchat, 2025, bitchat.free

The technical foundation of Bitchat is detailed in a whitepaper published by Dorsey to the Permissionless Tech GitHub repository, where he outlines a "store-and-forward" messaging logic. In this system, encrypted data packets are not just sent directly to a recipient but can be cached by nearby devices and relayed across multiple hops—up to a maximum of seven—to reach a destination beyond the standard thirty-meter range of a single Bluetooth connection. This multi-hop relay system effectively extends the network’s reach to over 300 meters in dense environments, mirroring the resilience of delay-tolerant networking. According to reports from technical outlets like Engadget and TechCrunch, the app employs rigorous cryptographic standards, utilizing Curve25519 for key exchange and AES-GCM for end-to-end encryption. To further protect user privacy, Bitchat eschews traditional identifiers like phone numbers or email addresses in favor of ephemeral, random peer IDs that refresh periodically, making it nearly impossible for third parties to track a user’s long-term digital footprint.

"Bitchat gives technologists, entrepreneurs, and everyone else who cares about the future of communication a look at what may happen when we stop accepting the limits of centralized systems and start developing the infrastructure we need." Nishant Bijani, 2025, Codist.com

Jack Dorsey’s vision for Bitchat is deeply rooted in the concept of "Bitcoin is money, not crypto," a mantra he has championed throughout 2025 and 2026. He views Bitchat not merely as a chat tool but as a foundational layer for a resilient society. By integrating Bitcoin transaction capabilities into the mesh network, Bitchat allows users to sign and broadcast financial transactions offline. These transactions are passed from device to device through the mesh until they reach a node with an active internet connection, at which point they are broadcast to the Bitcoin mainnet. This functionality aims to preserve the ability to conduct commerce during natural disasters, state-imposed internet blackouts, or in remote regions where connectivity is a luxury. Major news organizations such as CNBC and The Independent have highlighted how this design reflects the needs of pro-democracy activists and residents in crisis zones, drawing parallels to previous tools like Bridgefy and FireChat which saw significant use during the Hong Kong protests.

The aesthetic and functional design of Bitchat draws heavy inspiration from the early days of the internet, specifically Internet Relay Chat. Users navigate the app using familiar slash commands such as /join for channels and /msg for private notes, a nostalgic nod that reinforces the project’s identity as a raw, developer-centric tool for the open web. Since its beta launch on Apple’s TestFlight, which reached its ten-thousand-user capacity within hours, the project has maintained a commitment to open-source principles. It is released under an "Unlicense" public domain dedication, encouraging developers worldwide to fork the code and integrate the protocol into other applications. This open-ended approach is a strategic move by Dorsey to ensure the technology outlives any single corporate entity, positioning Bitchat as a public good rather than a proprietary product.

Beyond its technical specifications, Bitchat serves as a philosophical critique of the modern "walled garden" social media model. Dorsey has frequently stated that the reliance on centralized intermediaries for communication is a significant vulnerability for individual liberty. During a notable period of civil unrest in Madagascar in late 2025, Bitchat reportedly saw over seventy thousand downloads in a single week, proving its utility as a tool for coordination when traditional networks were compromised. This real-world application has validated Dorsey’s focus on geohash-based location chatting, which allows users to join regional rooms based on their physical coordinates without revealing their exact GPS location to a central authority. As the app continues to evolve with planned updates for Wi-Fi Direct support and USB relaying, the focus remains on hardening the protocol against sophisticated surveillance.

"Whether BitChat becomes a mainstream hit or remains a footnote in Dorsey’s off-grid saga doesn’t really matter. What it represents—a rejection of centralisation, an embrace of ephemeral tech, a return to local, physical connection—is far more compelling [...]". Abhyka Adlakha, 2025, Esquire

While security researchers have pointed out early vulnerabilities in the authentication system—which Dorsey acknowledged as part of the "work in progress" nature of the software—the community-driven development model has led to rapid iterations and patches. The integration with the Nostr protocol has further expanded the app's reach, allowing Bitchat to function as a local gateway to a broader decentralized social ecosystem. By removing the requirement for a SIM card or a service provider, Bitchat effectively decouples the act of communication from the telecommunications industry, fulfilling Dorsey's ambition of creating a truly permissionless medium of exchange.

Download Bitchat from the AppStore for Apple devices

Download Bitchat from Google Play for Android