The Jack Dorsey’s peer to peer chatting program and application, Bitchat is gaining traction day by day after it was launch some weeks back.
This application lets everyone chat freely with internet.
After a brief social media ban earlier this week and a series of violent rallies against corruption, where more than 48,000 Nepalese downloaded Block CEO Jack Dorsey’s peer-to-peer chatting program, bitchat.
The open-source Bitcoin developer “callebtc,” who is working on bitchat, claims that it followed a similar spike in downloads in Indonesia last week following protests over corruption.
We noticed a sharp increase in bitchat downloads from Indonesia during the statewide protests last week. Callebtc wrote to X on Wednesday, “We’re witnessing an even greater surge from Nepal today amid youth demonstrations against government corruption and a social media ban.”
Charts released by Callebtc show that Nepal had less than 3,344 downloads the previous Wednesday before the number jumped to 48,781 on Monday, more than four times more than Indonesia, which came in second with 11,324.
the rapid growth was aided by a short-lived social media ban barring Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube provoking a Gen Z-led protest that saw Nepal’s parliament and supreme court set on fire. The ban was first implemented by Nepal in an effort to slow the fast increase of online anti-government propaganda.
At least 19 people were killed and hundreds injured as a result of the security forces’ brutal response, which included the use of tear gas and live fire. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s residence, a government facility, was also stormed.
The accusations of corruption, which include misappropriation of public funds and a lack of openness regarding political decision-making, centre on Oli. Now, he has left his position.
The events in Indonesia and Nepal might be an indication of a growing trend in which people are using decentralised, encrypted messaging apps, or “freedom tech,” to shield themselves from censorship or government monitoring.
A “Chat Control” regulation that would ban encrypted messaging and require platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal to let regulators review messages before they are encrypted and sent is on the verge of being passed by the European Union.
Germany’s vote might determine whether the contentious bill is passed, as lawmakers from 15 EU member states have shown support for it.
Users abandoning centralised communication platforms that might censor content or impose other restrictions has up until now been the main driver behind the rise of decentralised, encrypted messaging apps.
Messenger and WhatsApp are two of the most well-known centralised communication platforms. They are run by the massive social media company Meta, a profit-driven, centralised company that sells personal information.
In July, Dorsey released a beta version of Bitchat, an encrypted, internet-free conversation app that employs Bluetooth mesh networks.
Other messaging apps that have drawn users looking for safer, censorship-resistant options include Signal, the Nostr-powered Damus, Session, and Status.
But before decentralised, encrypted messaging apps can compete with social media behemoths like Meta, which in June had an astounding 3.48 billion average daily users across its family of apps, which includes Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, they probably have a long way to go.
The 3.48 billion number represented a 6% annual growth, suggesting that it has maintained its speed over the past 12 months.
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