FireChat, developed by Open Garden, enables smartphones to exchange messages peer-to-peer via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Apple’s Multipeer without an internet connection. It gained popularity in 2014 during government internet restrictions in Iraq and the Hong Kong protests. Despite its use in sensitive contexts, developers cautioned against considering it secure or private due to the absence of encryption measures. Core features included private messaging and FireChat Alerts for sending alerts during specific times and locations, particularly useful for disaster relief efforts. Although not initially designed for secure communications, developers later claimed to have added end-to-end encryption for one-to-one private messages. The project was discontinued in 2018.
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