Ugandan regulator says it can shut down Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat, but the app’s decentralized Bluetooth mesh and election-driven adoption make it difficult to censor.
Summary
- Ugandan communications authorities have the technical capacity to shut down Bitchat ahead of national elections
- A Bitchat developer dismisses the warning, insisting that its Bluetooth mesh, serverless design, and lack of phone numbers or accounts make it difficult to block.
- Downloads in Uganda and other crisis areas have soared as activists adopt the app to stay connected during shutdowns, protests and natural disasters.
A developer of decentralized messaging application Bitchat has disputed claims by Ugandan authorities that the service could be blocked as the East African country approaches national elections.
The Executive Director of the Uganda Communications Commission, Nyombi Thembo, stated on Monday that regulators have the technical capacity to disable Bitchat if necessary, according to reports.
“We know how to make sure it doesn’t work,” Thembo said, adding that the country has significant technical expertise. “Don’t be excited about Bitchat, it’s just a little thing.”
A developer affiliated with Bitchat, identified online as Calle, dismissed that assessment. Citing internal data, Calle said more than 400,000 Ugandans have downloaded the application.
“You can’t stop Bitchat. You can’t stop us,” Calle wrote on social media platform X, encouraging local developers to contribute to open-source tools. “Free and open source. Unstoppable. From the people for the people.”
Interest in the application increased last week after opposition leader Bobi Wine urged supporters to install it as an emergency measure, citing previous election-related internet disruptions, reports show.
Uganda has historically restricted online access during politically sensitive periods. In 2016, President Yoweri Museveni ordered a nationwide shutdown of the internet and social media, citing security concerns. A similar four-day blackout began on 2021 election night.
Bitchat, which entered beta testing in July, works without traditional internet infrastructure. The application uses Bluetooth-based mesh networking to pass encrypted messages between nearby devices, allowing communication when mobile data or broadband services are unavailable, according to the technical documentation.
The system has no central servers and does not require phone numbers, email addresses or user accounts, the documentation says.
The use of the application has expanded beyond Uganda. During protests in Nepal last September, tens of thousands of users reportedly turned to Bitchat due to a temporary ban on social media. Madagascar saw a similar increase in downloads weeks later.
In November, the application briefly became one of the most downloaded tools in Jamaica during Hurricane Melissa, when connectivity disruptions affected residents seeking alternative communication methods.
