BENGALURU: As tens of thousands of young Indians protested in Delhi this week over exam paper leaks and alleged failures in the country’s education system, local media reports of signal jammers and internet disruptions around the protest site prompted many to look for ways to communicate offline.
Downloads of messaging apps that work without mobile networks or Wi-Fi surged in India over the past week, led by a more than eightfold jump in installs of Bitchat, reflecting how protesters in India are increasingly preparing for connectivity disruptions.
Experts say such apps can provide a useful emergency backup, but caution that they are not substitutes for reliable internet access.
Nigam Mishra, a 22-year-old software entrepreneur, told CNA that he began exploring offline messaging apps after hearing protesters describe connectivity problems at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Monday (Jul 20).
He said ChatGPT led him to Bitchat, which uses Bluetooth to connect nearby users without internet access.
“I downloaded and tested it with a few people first,” said Mishra.
“When I felt that it works well in short distances, I shared it with other protesters.”
He made an Instagram video listing useful tools protesters could carry or download, which quickly spread among those heading to the protest site and became part of an emergency “offline” toolkit.
OFFLINE APPS GAIN TRACTION
Bitchat, recently launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, recorded an over eightfold increase in downloads in India this week, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Downloads of other offline messaging apps, including Bridgefy and Briar, rose 193 per cent and 57 per cent respectively.
The sharpest increase in downloads came on Jul 20, coinciding with a protest march to Parliament.
Led by the youth-driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, the demonstrations have become one of India’s largest student-led protests, with calls for greater government accountability and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Daily active users also rose across all three apps, with Bitchat surpassing 250,000 active users on Jul 22, a record for the platform.
Mishra said the apps work significantly better as more people install them because each new device extends the Bluetooth mesh network through which messages are relayed.
Unlike conventional messaging platforms, the apps allow nearby devices to connect directly using Bluetooth rather than mobile networks or Wi-Fi. Messages are passed from phone to phone, allowing them to travel farther as more users join the network.
Protesters and volunteers also circulated checklists advising those heading to demonstrations to carry power banks, download offline maps, save emergency contacts, wear protective goggles and install offline messaging apps as backup communication tools, Mishra said.
However, the Indian government moved against one of these platforms, Bithub, late on Thursday night.
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs directed GitHub to remove or disable access to three repositories hosting Bitchat within three hours under the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology Rules, 2021.