FireChat is a messaging mobile applicationdeveloped by Open Garden, which works without the need for Wifi or mobile data, without Internet. This novelty can become a real revolution and a clear threat to messaging systems as established as or .
The app was launched in March 2014 for iPhone devices (iOS) although the following month, in April, they also released the version for Android. If you are interested, you can download it for free both for one device and for .
How does the FireChat app work?
This application uses the framework Multipeer Connectivity; uses the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth of your device thus searching for other devices that are around it to communicate with them directly. In this way, a network of nodes is created that can communicate with each other, forming what we could call a network. “local network” automatically. The data transmission range is approx. up to 60 meters although the FireChat app allows the information to jump, taking advantage of networks of all kinds, if there is a greater distance, until it reaches the destination device. For this reason, the more devices that have the app installed, the faster and easier the message transmission will be.
According to , the vice president of Open Garden, its developer, “it would be enough for 5% of the inhabitants of a city to connect with the FireChat app to create a network that sends messages”
In addition, it has the peculiarity that encrypts the messages that are sent and only the recipient of the information can open it and never an intermediary where the data passes without more. There was controversy when questioning whether the application could be used by criminal organizations or dangerous gangs to manage illegal activities through this application, although it seems that, for the moment, it has had very successful in countries where governments intervene in both Internet and telephone connections of their citizens to be able to act anonymously and without this authoritarian control.
Then I leave you with a explanatory video so you can get to know FireChat better:
Two FireChat app options: “Everyone” or “Nearby”
When sending a message using FireChat, we have two options: “Everyone” or “Nearby”. The first case, “everyone”, is used when you want to talk to all the contacts you want and that have the application installed. On the other hand, if we choose «nearby», is used to send a message to people close to your location. As we can see, for the moment, FireChat bets on group conversations and does not allow to speak individually with our contacts of the agenda as WhatsApp allows it and that can currently be an important brake.
Coordination tool in protest movements
Before writing this article, I googled “FireChat” to see what was being said about the innovative app. Is by help coordinate protest movements in countries like Venezuela or Hong Kong. In the latter case, for example, thousands of people protested the Chinese government’s restrictions. They reached the point of blocking the Internet signal to prevent the protesters from coordinating and sowing chaos, but what was really complicated was convincing Apple and Google to withdraw the application from their stores. Thanks to the help of FireChat, they were able to communicate and prepare their movements without any problem. It could also be used, for example, in events with a large influx of people or in natural disasters.
The FireChat app, according to company sources, has 6 million users worldwide and Spain is among the 10 countries who use it the most, especially in demonstrations, not so much in individual use.
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