Bitchat Tops Jamaica App Charts Amid Hurricane Melissa Connectivity Crisis
Bitchat, a peer-to-peer messaging app capable of operating without internet, surged to the top of Jamaica's App Store rankings as Hurricane Melissa crippled the island's infrastructure. The app now leads Jamaica's social networking category on iOS and ranks second among all free apps across platforms.
Developer Calle attributes the spike to Bitchat's offline functionality, particularly its location-based message pinning feature for shelters and danger zones. The storm has reduced national connectivity to 30% of normal levels, according to NetBlocks data, making decentralized communication tools critical.
This marks Bitchat's first major adoption during a natural disaster. The app's architecture—co-developed by Jack Dorsey—demonstrates how decentralized technologies can maintain communication when traditional systems fail. No cryptocurrency tokens were directly mentioned in relation to this infrastructure disruption event.
