{"id":90487,"date":"2025-10-30T19:25:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=90487"},"modified":"2025-10-30T18:25:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:25:37","slug":"bitchat-tops-jamaicas-app-store-amid-hurricane-aftermath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/bitchat-tops-jamaicas-app-store-amid-hurricane-aftermath\/","title":{"rendered":"BitChat Tops Jamaica&#8217;s App Store Amid Hurricane Aftermath"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Bluetooth messenger <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/jack-dorsey-unveils-encrypted-bluetooth-chat\">BitChat<\/a> has claimed the top spot in the social networking category of Jamaica&#8217;s App Store. The application facilitated communication following power outages caused by the hurricane.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-ae659570da6fc5d1-8233817566121860-1024x665.png\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-268601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-ae659570da6fc5d1-8233817566121860-1024x665.png 1024w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-ae659570da6fc5d1-8233817566121860-300x195.png 300w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-ae659570da6fc5d1-8233817566121860-768x499.png 768w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-ae659570da6fc5d1-8233817566121860.png 1069w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Top apps in the social networking category in Jamaica. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/jm\/app\/bitchat-mesh\/id6748219622\">AppStore<\/a>.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The messenger also <a href=\"https:\/\/appfigures.com\/top-apps\/ios-app-store\/jamaica\/iphone\/top-overall\">rose<\/a> to second place in the overall ranking of free apps for Apple and Android platforms.<\/p>\n<p>On October 28, a Category 5 storm named Melissa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/live\/cvgvexdjp1xt\">hit<\/a> Jamaica. According to the US National Hurricane Center, wind speeds exceeded 290 km\/h. The natural disaster caused flooding on the island, leading to power outages and loss of communication in some areas.<\/p>\n<p>According to the outage monitoring service <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/netblocks\/1261\">NetBlocks<\/a>, the level of national internet connectivity in Jamaica fell to 30% of normal levels.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-e9c736bade458107-8233819263372506-1024x576.png\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-268602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-e9c736bade458107-8233819263372506-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-e9c736bade458107-8233819263372506-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-e9c736bade458107-8233819263372506-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-e9c736bade458107-8233819263372506.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Connectivity levels in Jamaica after the hurricane. Source: NetBlocks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe incident is attributed to strong winds and downed power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity and communication,\u201d researchers noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Bluetooth Helped<\/h2>\n<p>One of BitChat&#8217;s developers, known as calle, stated that this was \u201cthe first surge in activity in response to a natural disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">bitchat downloads are spiking in jamaica.<\/p>\n<p>we&#8217;ve seen spikes in regions of civil unrest before. this is the first spike in response to a natural disaster.<\/p>\n<p>our thoughts are with the people of jamaica. we hope you and your friends and families are safe.<\/p>\n<p>please be careful. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Sas3C9doon\">pic.twitter.com\/Sas3C9doon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 calle (@callebtc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/callebtc\/status\/1983450530660970499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Previously, the messenger had garnered significant attention in Nepal and Indonesia, but the cause was mass protests against the current authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During natural disasters like the hurricane in Jamaica, reliable communication becomes critically important, calle stated in a comment to <a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/346748\/bitchat-tops-jamaica-app-charts-hurricane-melissa-cuts-connectivity\">Decrypt<\/a>. According to him, BitChat is designed to \u201chelp people stay connected even when traditional networks fail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The application does not require an internet connection. Each Bluetooth device in the BitChat network acts as both a client and a relay. This allows messages to be transmitted between gadgets to reach distant users. The range is about 30 meters, but individual network clusters connect via bridge nodes, extending the coverage area.<\/p>\n<p>Such features enable the reception of crucial information like alerts, messages from rescue services, shelter locations, and more. The messenger also includes a \u201clocation notes\u201d feature, allowing descriptions to be added to specific geographic points.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cBitChat was created to restore one of the most important human freedoms\u2014the ability to communicate without permission, additional infrastructure, or surveillance. Even when all other [services] are down,\u201d calle emphasized.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Back in June, Elon Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/elon-musks-xchat-a-dm-replacement-faces-criticism\">announced<\/a> the launch of the XChat messenger \u201cwith encryption, disappearing messages, and the ability to send any files.\u201d The application faced criticism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bluetooth messenger BitChat has claimed the top spot in Jamaica&#8217;s App Store social networking category, aiding communication after hurricane-induced power outages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"BitChat tops Jamaica's App Store amid hurricane aftermath.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"61","promo_type":"","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"BitChat tops Jamaica's App Store amid hurricane aftermath.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90488,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90487\/revisions\/90488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}