Uganda’s regulator says it can shut down Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat, but the app’s decentralized Bluetooth mesh and election‑driven adoption make it hard to censor.
Summary
- Uganda’s communications chief claims authorities have the technical capacity to disable Bitchat ahead of national elections.
- A Bitchat dev rejects the warning, stressing its Bluetooth mesh, serverless design and lack of phone numbers or accounts make it difficult to block.
- Downloads have surged in Uganda and other crisis zones as activists adopt the app to stay connected during shutdowns, protests and natural disasters.
A developer of the decentralized messaging application Bitchat has disputed claims by Ugandan authorities that the service can be blocked, as the East African nation approaches national elections.
Uganda Communications Commission executive director Nyombi Thembo stated Monday that regulators possess the technical capability to disable Bitchat if necessary, according to reports.
“We know how it can be made not to work,” Thembo said, adding that the country has significant technical expertise. “Don’t be excited by Bitchat, it’s a small thing.”
A developer associated with Bitchat, identified online as Calle, rejected 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 a contingency measure, citing previous election-related internet shutdowns, according to reports.
Uganda has restricted online access during politically sensitive periods in the past. In 2016, President Yoweri Museveni ordered a nationwide internet and social media shutdown, citing security concerns. A similar four-day blackout began on election night in 2021.
Bitchat, which entered beta testing in July, operates without traditional internet infrastructure. The application uses Bluetooth-based mesh networks to relay encrypted messages between nearby devices, allowing communication when mobile data or broadband services are unavailable, according to its technical documentation.
The system has no central servers and does not require phone numbers, email addresses or user accounts, according to the documentation.
The application’s usage has extended beyond Uganda. During protests in Nepal last September, tens of thousands of users reportedly turned to Bitchat amid a temporary social media ban. Madagascar experienced a comparable 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.
