Bitchat hits No. 2 on app charts in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa strikes

Downloads for decentralized messaging app Bitchat has surged in Jamaica as 185-mile-per-hour winds batter the Caribbean, cutting off communication.

Jamaicans have rushed to download Jack Dorsey’s decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app Bitchat as the fatal Hurricane Melissa continues to rip through the Caribbean.

Bitchat — which uses Bluetooth mesh networks for internet-free, encrypted communication — is now the second-most downloaded app on the Apple App Store and Google Play in Jamaica, offering a lifeline for 2.8 million people as internet coverage continues to falter in the region. 

Bitchat only trails weather forecast platform Zoom Earth — indicating that two of Jamaican’s most basic needs right now are to know what the weather is, and to communicate with one another.

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