FireChat
| Developer(s) | Open Garden |
|---|---|
| Platform | Android, iOS |
| Type | Online chat |
| Website |
firechat |
FireChat is a proprietary mobile app, developed by Open Garden, which uses wireless mesh networking to enable smartphones to connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity Framework without an internet connection by connecting peer-to-peer.[1]
Though it wasn't designed with the purpose in mind, throughout 2014 it was used as a communication tool in civil protests.
Overview
The app was first introduced in March 2014 for iPhones,[2] followed on 3 April by a version for Android devices.[3]
Off-the-grid instant messaging applications existed in as early as 2007, before the widespread adoption and availability of wireless data technologies. Blueeee! was a free Bluetooth Mobile Instant Messenger for the Sony Ericsson, Nokia, LG, Motorola, Siemens, Samsung devices, and used Bluetooth to allow nearby users to communicate with each other.
Uses
FireChat first became popular in 2014 in Iraq following government restrictions on internet use,[4][5] and thereafter during the Hong Kong protests.[6][7] The developers have stated, however: "People need to understand that this is not a tool to communicate anything that would put them in a harmful situation if it were to be discovered by somebody who’s hostile”; “It was not meant for secure or private communications.” The app does not encrypt in any way.[8]
See also
- Mesh network applications
References
- ↑ Milian, Mark. "Russians Are Organizing Against Putin Using FireChat Messaging App". http://www.bloomberg.com''. Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ Simonite, Tom (28 March 2014). "FireChat Could Be the First in a Wave of Mesh Networking Apps". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- ↑ Yu, Alan (7 April 2014). "How one app might be a step toward internet everywhere". NPR. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- ↑ Kuchler, Hannah; Kerr, Simon (22 June 2014). "‘Private internet’ FireChat app grows in popularity in Iraq". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- ↑ Hern, Alex. "Firechat updates as 40,000 Iraqis download 'mesh' chat app in censored Baghdad". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- ↑ "Faced with network surveillance, Hong Kong student demonstrators go P2P". Boingboing.net. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ↑ Bland, Archie (29 September 2014). "FireChat – the messaging app that’s powering the Hong Kong protests". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Asia Chats: Update on Line, KakaoTalk, and FireChat in China". Citizenlab.org. Retrieved 5 October 2014.