Firechat Lets One Message Sans Internet Connection

Back in March last year, we did hear of Firechat, an app that has plans to enable folks to send messages to one another without the need for any kind of Internet connectivity. This offline chat is said to work best when the recipients happen to be within 10 meters of one another. This mobile app that runs on iOS and Android platforms will allow users to chat and message each other without the need for any mobile data connection.

Apparently, this particular app would link up handsets through their Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals, although it will piggyback on an Internet connection as and when available. Firechat also increased in popularity among users who congregate in large crowds, and the Hong Kong protests last year also proved to be a good testing ground for Firechat to work.

In the past, conversations through the app happen to be chatroom-based and public, and with the migration to enable end-to-end encryption would transform Firechat to being the first widely-used social mesh network that is touted to deliver private communications. Will Firechat be able to usurp the likes of WhatsApp, Line, or WeChat and other IM in the long run? Not really, as there is a place for Firechat under special circumstances.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: app, firechat