Bitchat, the messaging app that works without internet launched by Jack Dorsey, ranked 2nd among free apps on the French App Store on the morning of October 23, 2026, according to Journal du Coin. It leads the Social Networking category. The protests of October 17 and a nationwide Orange outage on October 21 boosted installs.
In the overall ranking, only the Claude app was ahead of Bitchat that Friday, around 7 a.m. ChatGPT sat two places behind. In the Social Networking category, Bitchat was ahead of Telegram, Signal, Threads and Discord. The day before, Thursday, October 22, France 24 already ranked it at the top of that category. On Google Play, the Android version shows more than one million downloads, across all countries.
Why Bitchat is climbing in France
Two events explain the rise in downloads. The protests against the rising cost of living on Saturday, October 17 turned into looting in several cities. Calls to install Bitchat then circulated on social media.
On Wednesday, October 21, a nationwide outage then hit Orange and Sosh. According to the iGeneration website, it lasted from 11:20 a.m. until around 21h. During those hours without a mobile network, a messaging app that does without an operator found a concrete argument.
How Bitchat's no-internet messaging works
Bitchat relies on a Bluetooth mesh network. Each phone acts as both a client and a relay. A message hops from device to device until it reaches its recipient, without going through an operator. According to the protocol whitepaper published on the official repository, a message can make up to 7 hops.
The app requires neither an account nor a phone number. There is no central server, so there is no server that can be shut down. The official Bitchat website sums up this choice: "Traditional messaging apps depend on centralized infrastructure that can be monitored, censored, or shut down." It lists protests among its use cases.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and head of Block, launched the app in July 2025. When internet is available, Bitchat can also go through Nostr, a decentralized protocol popular with the Bitcoin community. According to the whitepaper, private messages only take this route between mutual favorite contacts. Its code is released into the public domain on GitHub.
What are the range and security limits?
The mesh comes with a direct trade-off: it only works if other phones running the app are nearby. Range is limited to a few dozen meters per device. In a crowd where few people have installed Bitchat, the message finds no immediate relay. The whitepaper then provides for delayed delivery: the encrypted message is handed to at most three nearby phones, which deliver it if they come across the recipient within 24 hours. These carriers cannot read it.
Not all exchanges are protected in the same way. The table sets out what the sources establish for each use.
| Feature | What is established | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Private messages | End-to-end encrypted (Noise protocol on the mesh) | No external security audit announced at launch; queued messages without forward secrecy |
| Public channel | Visible to users within range | Readable by everyone, no confidentiality |
| Bluetooth relay | Works without internet or an operator | A few dozen meters per device |
| Nostr mode | Takes over when internet is available | Then depends on a connection |
| Identity on the mesh | Stable device identifier, nickname broadcast in cleartext | A receiver within range can track a device from one place to another |
| Panic mode | Wipes identity keys, favorites, queued messages and public history with three taps on the logo | Received images and voice notes stored without app-specific encryption |
The most sensitive point remains the audit. Jack Dorsey had acknowledged at launch that the app had not yet undergone an external security audit. Encryption of private messages is therefore announced, but had not been verified by a third party at that time. The README and the whitepaper in the official repository, consulted on October 24, 2026, do not mention an external audit.
The whitepaper specifies the scope of this encryption. During a live session between two phones, the Noise protocol provides forward secrecy: a key stolen later does not make it possible to reread past exchanges. Messages queued for an absent recipient and those that go through Nostr do not have this protection.
The same document points to another weakness, more directly relevant to a protester: metadata, which it calls the "weakest part" of its design. On the mesh, each phone presents itself under an identifier that does not change, and its announcements broadcast its nickname and public keys in cleartext. Someone listening to the airwaves within range can therefore list the participants and track a device from one place to another, without reading the messages. The developers list a rotating identity among future work, with no date.
Shutting down social media would not stop Bitchat
The debate on suspending social media opened in the Senate on October 21, 2026. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that the networks used to organize the looting were becoming "a real problem," according to Frandroid. He pointed out that the Council of State does not rule out a suspension in principle, but only under very strict conditions.
There is a precedent. France had suspended TikTok in New Caledonia in May 2024. The Council of State ruled the measure unlawful on April 1, 2025, because it had no time limit. On Monday, October 19, 2026, Gabriel Attal argued on RTL for a "targeted temporary block" in the affected areas. No decision had been taken as of October 23.
Other countries have targeted Bitchat directly. India ordered Apple to remove the app from its App Store on October 3, according to TechCrunch, and it was no longer available on Google Play there either. China had obtained its removal in April. A removal from the stores only blocks new downloads: an app already installed keeps relaying messages. Bitchat's GitHub repository itself states that it has been targeted by takedown requests. It recommends installing the app from the App Store or compiling it from verified code, because a copy obtained elsewhere cannot be checked.
Bitchat and encrypted messaging apps: what use in Switzerland?
The sources consulted describe no use of Bitchat in Switzerland. The technical limits nonetheless apply everywhere: short range, the need for a crowd running the app, a readable public channel, devices that can be located within radio range and no external audit announced at launch.
Bitchat therefore does not meet the same need as Signal or Telegram, its neighbors in the French ranking. The app is designed for moments when infrastructure is lacking: a network shutdown, an operator outage or a dense gathering. For a Swiss user looking for an encrypted messaging app for everyday use, the key criterion remains the same: knowing which exchanges are encrypted and who has verified it.
What we don't know yet
- Whether an external security audit has been carried out since the July 2025 launch: neither the news report nor the official repository's documentation mentions one.
- Whether the French government will decide to suspend social media, and in what form.
- How many people actually use Bitchat in France, beyond the rankings and the Google Play counter.
- Whether the enthusiasm will last after Act II, announced for Saturday, October 24, 2026 by the movement that began on October 17.
Sources
- Journal du Coin, October 23, 2026: Bitchat tops the charts in France
- Bitchat, official website: bitchat.free
- Bitchat, official repository on GitHub (permissionlesstech): Project README
- Bitchat, protocol whitepaper, version 2.0, July 6, 2026: bitchat Protocol Whitepaper
