Madagascar’s Bitchat App Sees Download Boom Amid Water and Energy Protests
As people get angrier about power and water interruptions, Madagascar is viewing a in the use of offline communication tools. The Bitchat app, a Bluetooth-mesh messaging platform that focuses on privacy, has become an essential tool for people who want to stay connected when the internet isn’t working or isn’t available.
Protests Spark Rise in Offline Messaging
Protests, looting, and violence have shaken Madagascar’s capital later than the city had to deal with periodic outages and water shortages. To stop the protests, the government used tear gas, set a harsh curfew from dusk to dawn, and fired the Energy minister.
These difficultys have led to a rush for answers that don’t depend on traditional networks. has become the most popular way to communicate securely and without a central server.
Bitchat: What it Does and Why it’s Great
Bitchat works by creating a Bluetooth mesh network that lets people communicate messages without needing to be connected to the internet or even having phone numbers. The app uses the BTC to finish transactions and enables you to send securely over Bluetooth.
It focuses on privacy by using , ephemeral messaging, and requiring users to have cryptocurrency wallets to identify themselves. This keeps people secure even when the network is down or when the government is cracking down.
Download Boom: Trends and Analytics
According to data from Chrome-Stats and , Bitchat has been downloaded more than 365,000 times around the world, with a massive increase in Madagascar over the past week. The software has been downloaded 21,000 times in the last 24 hours and 71,000 times in the previous week.
Related search terms like and “how to use Bitchat” grew rapidly in the country, showing that a lot of people were interested in it as fears of losing the internet and curfews grew.
The Digital Divide in Madagascar
The quick rise of Bitchat also shows how large the digital divide is in the country. Only 6.6 million of Madagascar’s over 32 million population will have internet connectivity by ahead 2025.
With more than 18 million active cellphone subscriptions, most of which only allow basic voice calls and SMS, a lot of people still have trouble fully participating in the digital world. Because not everyone has access to the internet, offline alternatives like Bitchat are beneficial for filling up communication gaps during times of turmoil.
The massive increase in Bitchat downloads during water and energy crisis shows how technology changes to address pressing needs for privacy and reliability. As political instability and difficultys with infrastructure continue, tools that let people connect securely without traditional networks are becoming more and more critical. This trend is likely to speed up in places where there are still significant gaps in access to technology.
