Show threadMaxi 12x 💉Jan 26

@fromjason OMG, when searching for this, I found out I actually learned about it from *you*: It was #Firechat.
Might have confabulated the NSA part, sorry.

https://mastodon.social/@fromjason/112356546951791460

https://www.fromjason.xyz/p/notebook/firechat-was-a-tool-for-revolution-then-it-disappeared/

»FireChat is gone because FireChat was a threat to the systems it circumvented.«

FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared.

With FireChat, people were free to communicate and coordinate with each other without the message having to first filter through someone's data center. Why did the app shut down without notice?

from jason
Gea-Suan LinNov 15

https://blog.gslin.org/archives/2025/11/15/12737/bitchat%ef%bc%9a%e8%97%8d%e7%89%99-%e7%b6%b2%e8%b7%af%e7%9a%84%e9%80%9a%e8%a8%8a%e8%bb%9f%e9%ab%94/

Bitchat：藍牙 + 網路的通訊軟體

#bitchat #bluetooth #bridgefy #e2ee #encryption #EndToEnd #firechat #im #instant #internet #messenger #network #privacy #protocol #security #signal

Bitchat：藍牙 + 網路的通訊軟體

看到新的通訊軟體 Bitchat，針對天災或戰爭時期，透過藍牙與網路混搭，想辦法將訊息不斷的 relay 到接收者的方案，目前有提供 iOS & Android 版：「Bitchat for Gaza - messaging without internet (via)」。 之前看到的是 Bridgefy，號稱走 Signal...

Gea-Suan Lin's BLOG
fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻 ✍️ 🥐 🇵🇷Jul 8, 2025

If I were bitter about how a certain "decentralized" social media initiative played out, and I wanted to contrast that effort with something truly decentralized, I might build a mesh-network messaging app.

At any rate I'm fascinated by #Bitchat. Especially since #Firechat sort of just disappeared during Covid.

#Bluesky #JackDorsey

https://cointelegraph.com/news/jack-dorsey-launches-bluetooth-relayed-decentralized-messaging-app-bitchat

fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻 ✍️ 🥐 🇵🇷Jul 8, 2025

> Bitchat is a messaging app that operates through Bluetooth mesh networks, allowing users to send messages without Wi-Fi or cell reception.

I never forgot #FireChat 😭 I wish someone else was making this but I'll take it I guess.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/07/jack-dorsey-working-on-bluetooth-messaging-app-bitchat/

Jack Dorsey working on Bluetooth messaging app, Bitchat | TechCrunch

Block CEO and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey wrote in an X post on Sunday night that he spent his weekend creating an app called Bitchat (presumably a

TechCrunch
Show threadMatěj Cepl 🇪🇺 🇨🇿 🇺🇦Aug 28, 2024

@fromjason

You seem to miss the most important lesson: if #FireChat wanted to survive and be the tool revolutionaries, missionaries, and others can always rely on, it would have to be #OpenSource. It wasn’t. So, we have now only #Tor and similar craziness where you need at least a PhD in CS to use it.

(and yes, perhaps #NewNode, although I don’t see it on #FDroid, which makes it suspicious).

Show threadBeanface42May 27, 2024
@feudjais Il y avait #Firechat ou plus récemment #Bridgefy mais ces applications qui communiquent en "mesh" via Bluetooth ont leur faiblesses, à commencer par être sûr de savoir "qui parle".
mozzApr 30, 2024

FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared.

FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared. #technology #privacy #firechat #mesh

https://www.fromjason.xyz/p/notebook/firechat-was-a-tool-for-revolution-then-it-disappeared/

FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared.

With FireChat, people were free to communicate and coordinate with each other without the message having to first filter through someone's data center. Why did the app shut down without notice?

from jason
fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻 ✍️ 🥐 🇵🇷Apr 29, 2024

New Note: FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared.

https://fromjason.xyz/p/notebook/firechat-was-a-tool-for-revolution-then-it-disappeared/

#MeshNetwork #FireChat #decentralized

FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared.

With FireChat, people were free to communicate and coordinate with each other without the message having to first filter through someone's data center. Why did the app shut down without notice?

from jason
Emmanuel D. BreyaueMay 23, 2023
i miss #firechat #mesh app, it would be very powerful if their code was free, this would have meant a big step to communication between IOT devices.
StrypeyJun 22, 2020

Does anyone know of free code and user respecting replacements for the apps recommended in this #protest kit guide?
http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/city/how-to-gear-up/216551-what-to-wear-protest

They list #FireChat, #Zello, #Hands Up, #ImGettingArrested, and #ObscuraCam.

How to gear up for a protest

On the fourth anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, we speak to lawyer and activist Sue Basko about the right to assemble, agent provocateurs and police brutality at demonstrations.