Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey’s Bluetooth messaging app now available on App Store

Jack Dorsey

, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter (now X), has officially launched his highly anticipated Bluetooth-based messaging application, BitChat. The WhatsApp rival is now available on Apple App Store for download. Designed for offline communication,

Bitchat

uses Bluetooth mesh networks to let users chat with others nearby—no cellular or Wi-Fi connection required. Dorsey reportedly coded the app’s foundation over a weekend in early July. The app features a minimalist interface with no login system; users simply open the app, set a display name, and begin messaging anyone within Bluetooth range—typically up to 100 meters.

How Bitchat works

Bitchat facilitates encrypted communication between nearby devices. As users move, their phones automatically form local Bluetooth clusters, passing messages from one device to another. This allows messages to reach peers beyond standard Bluetooth range, without Wi-Fi or cellular service.“Bridge” devices play a role by connecting overlapping clusters, extending the mesh network across greater distances. Messages are stored only on individual devices, disappear by default and never touch any centralised infrastructure.The app's launch builds upon Dorsey's previous support for decentralised platforms like Damus and Bluesky. Similar to the Bluetooth-based apps used during Hong Kong's 2019 protests, Bitchat is engineered to remain functional even when internet access is blocked, as per CNBC.

Bitchat also supports optional group chats, or "rooms," which can be named with hashtags and secured with passwords, the report added. It includes a "store and forward" feature, ensuring messages are delivered to users who are temporarily offline.The report further noted that a future update is expected to add Wi-Fi Direct to further increase speed and range, pushing Dorsey's vision for off-grid, user-owned communication even further.Unlike mainstream messaging platforms such as Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger, which rely on personal data, Bitchat operates entirely peer-to-peer, with no accounts, no personal identifiers, and no data collection.