In the event of an internet shutdown, obviously you cannot use any chat app. All chat apps are internet based and do not work without internet. But in case of internet shutdown, there is also an option to communicate with each other. There is an app called Fire Chat that works without internet.
This chat app usually proves beneficial for Protesters when internet shutdown is done. This is a peer-to-peer chat app, through which you can interact with each other despite the internet being blocked.
Fire Chat uses technology like WiFi Direct and Bluetooth of your smartphone. Protesters use it in many cities around the world, including Iraq, Ecuador and Spain. It has been prepared by a company called Open Garden. This app is available for iPhone and Android smartphones. It can be downloaded from the App Store or Play Store.
How does FireChat work?
— This chat app creates mesh network via WiFi Direct or Bluetooth which connects to the Fire Chat users using nearby. For example, 100 people are using firechat in a stadium, then all those 100 people can talk to each other without internet.
— You can think of this chat app as a chain. If someone is also outside the stadium, then if a user is at the gate of the stadium and is connecting this chat app with the user inside the stadium then they can talk to him.
— To use this chat app, the distance from one smartphone to another smartphone should be 200 feet.
— According to FireChat, this app works without internet. It works even if there is no cellular network. It can be used in planes, public transport, cruise ship, campus and crowded events. The only need for this is that some people are using it around there.
— You can send messages and photos from this chat app. The company claims that private messages are peer-to-peer encrypted.
— FireChat users can create chat rooms which can be public or private. If the internet is turned on then in this case this app works through the internet in a normal way.
— To use it, users have to install FireChat on their mobile phones and create a free account.
One thing to keep in mind is that this app is not as secure as WhatsApp and Telegram, because end to end encryption is not used here. Since it works via WiFi and Bluetooth, it is not secure. The developer of this chat app had said in an interview to Wired that people have to understand that it is not a tool made for any wrong purpose and it is not for secure and private communication.
