{"id":54192,"date":"2025-08-22T12:56:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?p=54192"},"modified":"2025-08-22T12:56:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:56:05","slug":"mesh-messengers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/mesh-messengers\/54192\/","title":{"rendered":"Chatting offline: an overview of mesh messaging apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Constant access to the internet and a cell service is taken as much for granted these days as electricity, and it\u2019s sometimes hard to imagine how we ever lived without them before. But what if you find yourself in a situation with no mobile internet or cell signal, but you need to stay in touch with friends nearby? For example, your group gets separated on a plane and you\u2019re seated in different sections, but you were all set to discuss your travel plans during the flight. Or you\u2019re at a music festival where the internet is wobbly and it\u2019s too loud to talk, but you still need to coordinate when to head to the main stage.<\/p>\n

This is where decentralized p2p (peer-to-peer), or mesh messaging apps can come in handy. These apps allow you to connect multiple devices into a single \u201cmesh\u201d network via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct.<\/p>\n

In the 2010s, with the emergence of Wi-Fi Direct, apps like these made a lot of noise, but never really took off \u2014 it wasn\u2019t clear what they were for or where you\u2019d even use them. They were an odd substitute for walkie-talkies, but with a shorter range and higher power consumption, so they never became popular with smartphone users. Still, these types of messaging apps are alive and well today, with developers continuing to support them, and even building new ones.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because they serve a key purpose: allowing folks to stay connected during natural disasters, coordinate search party efforts, or simply communicate with neighbors at home or at the summer cottage when there\u2019s no Wi-Fi or cell signal. For these and other similar situations, decentralized messaging apps that don\u2019t require an internet connection are a good, if not perfect, solution.<\/p>\n

So, if those walkie-talkies you ordered don\u2019t arrive before your planned hike, mesh messaging apps can step in as a backup.<\/p>\n

The term \u201cdecentralized\u201d is also often used to describe blockchain messaging apps like Status<\/a> or Brave Messenger<\/a>. However, we won\u2019t be talking about them today since they require a stable internet connection to work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How p2p messaging apps work<\/h2>\n

These apps work on a decentralized mesh network<\/strong>, where each device serves as both a client and a relay. A distributed network is built up from many client devices, and each member can act as a bridge to pass messages along.<\/p>\n

Imagine your smartphone turning into a mini walkie-talkie that can send messages to other nearby devices that have the right app installed. If you want to send a message, it\u2019ll hop from one user\u2019s smartphone to another\u2019s until it reaches the intended recipient. And the devices it passes through can\u2019t read the message as it\u2019s encrypted for connecting nodes.<\/p>\n

Devices connect directly with each other via either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct.<\/p>\n

Which mesh messaging apps are worth trying?<\/h2>\n

BitChat<\/strong><\/a>. This is the latest decentralized messaging app based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), launched in July 2025 by ex-Twitter (now X) co-founder Jack Dorsey. The app is positioned as a modern, encrypted version of the IRC chats from the late 1990s \u2014 and it looks like one too.<\/p>\n

It claims to be completely decentralized with no servers and to use end-to-end encryption; messages are broken into 500-byte fragments for smoother transmission. The app requires no sign-up, email, or phone number.<\/p>\n

However, security researchers have already found<\/a> critical vulnerabilities in BitChat, and even call it a victim of \u201cvibe coding\u201d \u2014 an AI-driven development technique that omits a proper security audit. Currently, AI-powered tools still struggle<\/a> with \u201csecure by design\u201d, meaning they have difficulty integrating fundamental security principles at the app\u2019s design phase. Jack Dorsey promises to fix the bugs in upcoming updates.<\/p>\n

You can install the messenger from both the App Store<\/a> and Google Play<\/a>. The source code is available on GitHub<\/a>, and you can follow the official releases and updates on Jack Dorsey\u2019s X account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bridgefy<\/strong><\/a>. This has over 12 million users, which is a lot for a mesh messaging app \u2014 the more users there are, the more likely you\u2019ll be able to connect.<\/p>\n

Bridgefy also uses BLE, works on both iOS and Android, supports end-to-end encryption, and has two modes: private messaging and public broadcasting. On the downside, the free version is plagued with obtrusive ads, and performance can be patchy.<\/p>\n

Briar<\/strong><\/a>. This is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted messaging app whose code has passed an independent security audit<\/a> by Germany\u2019s Cure53.<\/p>\n

In addition to working via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct, it can also connect over the internet through the Tor network, which makes it a more versatile tool.<\/p>\n

While Briar provides the highest level of privacy and security, there are trade-offs. First, you can only add a contact in person by scanning a QR code or by using special links shared through other channels. Second, forget about voice messages, files, or GIFs \u2014 Briar only supports text messaging.<\/p>\n

Finally, Briar is only available for Android.<\/p>\n

White Mouse<\/strong><\/a>. A relatively new project, White Mouse is a chat app with disappearing messages. It\u2019s currently only available for Android, but the developers have promised versions for iOS, macOS, and Windows. It doesn\u2019t require a phone number to sign up, provides end-to-end encryption, doesn\u2019t store messages anywhere, and can automatically delete them. To increase privacy, White Mouse doesn\u2019t allow users to forward messages, take screenshots, or record the screen. It also creates special backgrounds with watermarks to prevent chats from being photographed. It can work both over the internet and directly between nearby devices.<\/p>\n

What to bear in mind when using mesh messaging apps<\/h2>\n