Software:FireChat
 | |
| Developer(s) | Open Garden |
|---|---|
| Stable release | |
| Platform | Android, iOS |
| Type | mesh networking |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | opengarden.com/firechat |
FireChat was a proprietary mobile app, developed by Open Garden, which uses wireless mesh networking to enable smartphones to connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Apple's Multipeer Connectivity Framework without an internet connection by connecting peer-to-peer.[1]
Though it was not designed with the purpose in mind, FireChat has been used as a communication tool in some civil protests.
FireChat is now discontinued. The official URL is a 404 error page, and apps have not been updated since 2018.
History
The app was first introduced in March 2014 for iPhones,[2] followed on April 3 by a version for Android devices.[3]
In July 2015, FireChat introduced private messaging. Until then, it had only been possible to post messages to public chatrooms.[4]
In May 2016, FireChat introduced FireChat Alerts to allow users to send push alerts during a specific time and place.[5] This feature was aimed for aid workers doing disaster relief and was developed from a partnership with Marikina a city in the Philippines.[6]
Usage
FireChat first became popular in 2014 in Iraq following government restrictions on internet use,[7][8] and thereafter during the 2014 Hong Kong protests.[9][10] 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]
As of July 2015, FireChat claims to use end-to-end encryption to protect its one-to-one private messages.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Milian, Mark. "Russians Are Organizing Against Putin Using FireChat Messaging App". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-30/russians-are-organizing-against-putin-using-firechat-messaging-app.html.
- ↑ Simonite, Tom (28 March 2014). "FireChat Could Be the First in a Wave of Mesh Networking Apps". MIT Technology Review. http://www.technologyreview.com/news/525921/the-latest-chat-app-for-iphone-needs-no-internet-connection/.
- ↑ Yu, Alan (7 April 2014). "How one app might be a step toward internet everywhere". NPR. https://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/04/07/298925565/how-one-app-might-be-a-step-toward-internet-everywhere.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "FireChat launches new offline private messaging option". BBC. 30 July 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33718318.
- ↑ Toor, Amar (19 May 2016). "This app lets rescue workers send offline alerts when disaster strikes". https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/19/11711686/firechat-alerts-app-natural-disaster-mesh-network.
- ↑ Stinson, Elizabeth (12 October 2015). "This App is Building a Giant Network for Free Messaging". https://www.wired.com/2015/10/giant-network-for-free-messaging/.
- ↑ Kuchler, Hannah; Kerr, Simon (22 June 2014). "'Private internet' FireChat app grows in popularity in Iraq". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ef9602b0-f807-11e3-90fa-00144feabdc0.html.
- ↑ Hern, Alex. "Firechat updates as 40,000 Iraqis download 'mesh' chat app in censored Baghdad". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/24/firechat-updates-as-40000-iraqis-download-mesh-chat-app-to-get-online-in-censored-baghdad.
- ↑ "Faced with network surveillance, Hong Kong student demonstrators go P2P". Boingboing.net. http://boingboing.net/2014/09/29/faced-with-network-surveillanc.html.
- ↑ Bland, Archie (29 September 2014). "FireChat – the messaging app that's powering the Hong Kong protests". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/29/firechat-messaging-app-powering-hong-kong-protests.
- ↑ Velazco, Alfredo. "The Internet, a Staging Post for Protests in Ecuador, is Under Threat". http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/06/28/the-internet-a-staging-post-for-protests-in-ecuador-is-under-threat/.
- ↑ Borràs, Enric (17 September 2015). "L'aplicació amb què et podies comunicar a la Via Lliure també et servirà en una catàstrofe". Ara. http://www.ara.cat/societat/aplicacio-podies-comunicar-via-lliure-servira-catastrofe_0_1432056955.html.
- ↑ "Hyderabad university shut after protests over Dalit student's death". BBC. 19 January 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35349789.
- ↑ TNN (23 January 2016). "Firechat comes to UOH students' rescue". The Times of India (The Times Group). http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Firechat-comes-to-UoH-students-rescue/articleshow/50691376.cms.
- ↑ Baraniuk, Chris (25 June 2014). "FireChat warns Iraqis that messaging app won't protect privacy". Condé Nast. https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-06/25/firechat.
External links
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