FireChat

FireChat was a proprietary mobile app, developed by Open Garden, which used wireless mesh networking to enable smartphones to pass messages to each other peer-to-peer via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Apple's Multipeer, without an internet connection.[1]

This article is about the app. For the widget, see Firebase § Firechat.
Firechat
Developer(s)Open Garden
Stable release
PlatformAndroid, iOS
Typemesh networking
LicenseProprietary
Websiteopengarden.com/firechat

Though it was not designed with the purpose in mind, FireChat was used as a communication tool in some civil protests.[2]

FireChat is now discontinued. The official URL displays a 404 error page, and apps have not been updated since 2018.

History

The app was first introduced in March 2014 for iPhones,[3] followed on April 3 by a version for Android devices.[4]

In July 2015, FireChat introduced private messaging. Until then, it had only been possible to post messages to public chatrooms.[5]

In May 2016, FireChat introduced FireChat Alerts, which allowed users to "push" alerts during a specific time and in a specific place.[6] This feature was added for the benefit of aid workers doing disaster relief and stemmed from a partnership with the city of Marikina.[7]

Usage

FireChat became popular in 2014 in Iraq following government restrictions on internet use,[8][9] and thereafter during the 2014 Hong Kong protests.[10][2] In 2015, FireChat was also promoted by protesters during the 2015 Ecuadorian protests.[11] On September 11, 2015, during the pro-independence demonstration called Free Way to the Catalan Republic, FireChat was used 131,000 times.[12] In January 2016, students protested at the University of Hyderabad, India, following the suicide of a PhD student named Rohith Vemula.[13] Some students were reported to have used Firechat after the university shut down its Wi-Fi.[14]

Security

In June 2014, Firechat's developers told Wired that "[p]eople need to understand that this is not a tool to communicate anything that would put them in a harmful situation if it were to be discovered by somebody who's hostile ... It was not meant for secure or private communications."[15] By July 2015, the FireChat developers claimed to have added end-to-end encryption for its one-to-one private messages.[5]

See also

References
  1. Milian, Mark (30 December 2014). "Russians Are Organizing Against Putin Using FireChat Messaging App". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  2. Bland, Archie (29 September 2014). "FireChat – the messaging app that's powering the Hong Kong protests". The Guardian.
  3. Simonite, Tom (28 March 2014). "FireChat Could Be the First in a Wave of Mesh Networking Apps". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  4. Yu, Alan (7 April 2014). "How one app might be a step toward internet everywhere". NPR. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  5. "FireChat launches new offline private messaging option". BBC News. BBC. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  6. Toor, Amar (19 May 2016). "This app lets rescue workers send offline alerts when disaster strikes". The Verge. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  7. Stinson, Elizabeth (12 October 2015). "This App is Building a Giant Network for Free Messaging". Wired. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  8. Kuchler, Hannah; Kerr, Simon (22 June 2014). "'Private internet' FireChat app grows in popularity in Iraq". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  9. Hern, Alex (24 June 2014). "Firechat updates as 40,000 Iraqis download 'mesh' chat app in censored Baghdad". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  10. "Faced with network surveillance, Hong Kong student demonstrators go P2P". Boingboing.net. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  11. Velazco, Alfredo (28 June 2015). "The Internet, a Staging Post for Protests in Ecuador, is Under Threat". Global Voices Online. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  12. Borràs, Enric (17 September 2015). "L'aplicació amb què et podies comunicar a la Via Lliure també et servirà en una catàstrofe". Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  13. "Hyderabad university shut after protests over Dalit student's death". BBC News. BBC. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  14. TNN (23 January 2016). "Firechat comes to UOH students' rescue". The Times of India. The Times Group. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  15. Baraniuk, Chris (25 June 2014). "FireChat warns Iraqis that messaging app won't protect privacy". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
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