Internet Shutdown is one of the best tools that the government around the world are using in the modern world to suppress the citizens. However, sometimes it’s necessary to curb the false information to spread but most of the time it is used to stop the free flow of speech which is a fundamental right in most democratic countries in the world.
Thankfully, some developers have developed apps that work without the internet which could be helpful in the case of no internet due to any reason.
Before we head to the apps I hope you must learn the technology behind these apps and understand that your data remains private or not. While Whatsapp and other popular messaging apps use the Internet to send and receive data, the offline messaging apps create a peer-to-peer Bluetooth mesh network or Wifi Direct-based network on your mobile devices that remove the need for internet service.
Best Offline Messaging Apps in 2020:
1. Bridgefy
Bridgefy is one of the most popular offline messaging apps that gained huge popularity as it was used by the protesters in Hong Kong after the Hong Kong government shut down the internet in the state. The app is also gaining popularity between the protesters of the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) in India to communicate to each other.
Bridgefy works using the Bluetooth mesh technology and it offers three main types of messaging service; Person-to-Person mode, Broadcast mode, and Mesh mode. Alongside offline modes, it also offers online mode when the internet is available to make long-range communication. The app offers a clean and easy to understand UI with beautiful design.
Install: Android (free), iOS (free)
2. Briar
Briar is also one of the most useful offline messaging app that works only on Android devices. The app works without the use of WiFi or mobile data and keeps your communication secured. It uses both Bluetooth and WiFi mesh network to operate and allows the flow of messages.
When the device has internet access available it doesn’t put your data on a central server instead it uses Tor Network for syncing to protect users from surveillance and one of the best features is that it doesn’t allow you to take screenshots on the app.
Install: Android (free)
3. Vojer
Vojer is also an offline messaging app that creates its own secure and reliable mesh network around the user for anonymous peer-to-peer micro-interactions with your family, friends, and colleagues. It allows you to stay connected with your contacts keeping it private without any internet connection, it supports both text and photo messaging. it is a very good optional app for iOS users in terms of offline messaging apps. The only drawback of the app is that it is paid and the amount seems expensive for users to actually make a purchase for it.
Install: iOS ($19.99)
4. Signal Offline Messenger
Signal Offline Messenger uses only WiFi-Direct networking and allows users to send text, audio, photo, and even video messages to each other in a range of 100 meters. It is a very helpful app that allows making communication with family, friends, and others the only drawback is that it is available on Android only.
Install: Android (free)
5. Fire Chat
Fire Chat is a good messaging app that offers free peer-to-peer both offline and online messaging to users with or without the use of the Internet with keeping your data private and secure. It offers a larger range as it uses both Bluetooth and WiFi mesh networks to setup connection but with more devices connected in the mesh, the network range can be increased.
