Jack Dorsey debuts BitChat: A Bluetooth-only messaging app for offline communication

Jack Dorsey, the tech entrepreneur behind Twitter, Square, and Bluesky, is back with a new project: BitChat. This is a messaging app that breaks all the conventional rules. Instead of relying on the internet or cellular networks, BitChat operates entirely over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networks, offering a radical alternative for communication in offline or disrupted environments.

“BitChat is not a social media platform. It’s a peer-to-peer messaging network that doesn’t need the internet at all,” Dorsey explained in the project’s GitHub documentation.

How BitChat works

BitChat creates a mesh network by connecting devices within typical Bluetooth range (about 30–33 feet). These local clusters are extended by bridge nodes (devices that overlap Bluetooth ranges), allowing messages to hop across multiple devices until they reach their destination.

This design makes BitChat theoretically useful during internet outages, natural disasters, or remote area communications, where traditional networks may be unavailable.

A work in progress and not secure (Yet)

Despite its bold ambitions, BitChat is not secure at this stage. The project’s GitHub page includes a prominent warning:

“Private message and channel features have not received external security review and may contain vulnerabilities... Do not rely on its security until it has been reviewed.”

Encryption protocols, like Noise, are still being implemented. Until then, users are advised not to use BitChat for sensitive or private communication.

Built with AI

Interestingly, Dorsey didn’t build BitChat alone. He leaned heavily on Goose, an AI coding assistant from Block (his fintech company), which autonomously writes and debugs code.

“I gave myself a challenge to build something I didn’t think I or the current AI tools could do,” Dorsey wrote. “I’m always surprised at how much… just works.”

A glimpse into the future

BitChat is not the first app to explore Bluetooth mesh networking, but coming from Dorsey, it’s likely to draw serious attention.

For now, it’s experimental. But if it scales and solves its security gaps, it could emerge as a powerful alternative to centralized messaging, especially with growing concerns over network outages, censorship, and data sovereignty.