Jamaicans have rushed to download Jack Dorsey’s decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app Bitchat as the fatal Hurricane Melissa continues to rip through the Caribbean.
Bitchat — which uses Bluetooth mesh networks for internet-free, encrypted communication — is now the second-most downloaded app on the Apple App Store and Google Play in Jamaica, offering a lifeline for 2.8 million people as internet coverage continues to falter in the region.
Bitchat only trails weather forecast platform Zoom Earth — indicating that two of Jamaican’s most basic needs right now are to know what the weather is, and to communicate with one another.
CNN reported on Wednesday that Hurricane Melissa has killed over 30 people in the Caribbean, including at least 23 in Haiti, while countless homes and businesses have been destroyed.
Until recently, adoption of decentralized, encrypted messaging apps has been driven by users leaving centralized communication platforms that may censor content or impose other restrictions.
However, Bitchat has since become a critical solution for people in countries where internet access has been disrupted — whether due to government interference or natural disasters.
In September, Bitchat downloads rose in Nepal over government corruption and a social media ban that blocked Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, and triggered widespread protests. Downloads also rose in Indonesia a week earlier amid protests.
A similar incident occurred in Madagascar later that month amid protests over ongoing water and power cuts.
The European Union has also been mulling the controversial “Chat Control” law, which would eliminate encrypted messaging, forcing apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal to allow regulators to screen messages before they are encrypted and sent.
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The proposal, which aims to spot child abuse material, was moving closer toward passing in October before Germany expressed opposition to it, arguing that the scanning of private messages is unconstitutional.
The vote has now been postponed, with another vote set for early December.
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