Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat Sees Downloads Spike in Uganda Over Internet Shutdown Worries

Ugandans have turned to Bitchat in large numbers as worries mount over potential internet restrictions during the presidential elections set for next week. According to pseudonymous Bitchat developer Calle, hundreds of thousands of installs occurred on Android devices alone in Uganda in recent days, amounting to roughly 1% of the population. This followed calls from opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, to download the app preemptively. 

This spike reflects lessons from the 2021 elections, when authorities imposed a nationwide internet blackout lasting more than four days, which Wine claimed facilitated electoral fraud. 

This latest sequence of events began in late December, when Wine publicly urged citizens to adopt Bitchat to maintain communication if the government cuts access. On Monday, Nyombi Thembo, head of the Uganda Communications Commission, issued a warning that the app could be blocked, citing the country’s pool of software experts to enforce it. Officials have denied any plans for a shutdown, with ICT Permanent Secretary Aminah Zawedde stating no such decision exists.

Of course, Calle and other Bitchat proponents shared their skepticism that the app could be blocked even if authorities wanted to prevent the local population from using it. Adding to tensions, Starlink services also remain suspended in Uganda for lacking a license, limiting satellite-based alternatives. 

Bitchat, which was created by Twitter (now X) and Square (now Block) founder Jack Dorsey during a weekend project last summer, allows users to form location-based chatrooms and, more notably, relay messages via Bluetooth-powered mesh networks in a peer-to-peer setup. This bypasses traditional internet infrastructure, much like FireChat did for protesters in Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement, where it enabled coordination amid signal jamming. By connecting devices directly within range, Bitchat can operate without central servers or even access to the traditional internet, making it resistant to broad shutdowns.

Recently, the app drew attention during Nepal’s Gen Z protests, where it supported protesters in overthrowing the government. On September 4, authorities banned 26 platforms, including Facebook, X, YouTube, and Signal, to curb demonstrations against nepotism and a digital tax. Downloads jumped from 3,000 to 50,000 daily, with 48,000 in Nepal alone on September 8, equating to 38% of global installs. Users leveraged Bitchat’s mesh networking capabilities, with each node extending reach up to 30 meters in crowded areas, to organize marches that culminated in arson at the parliament building and the regime’s fall.

A similar pattern emerged in Indonesia during the September 2025 protests, where Calle noted a sharp rise in Bitchat adoption. Analytics showed installs climbing to 12,581 in the country by September 3, outpacing the combined downloads taking place in the U.S. and Russia, amid nationwide demonstrations.

Centralized internet setups in many nations allow easy disruptions during unrest, as seen in Uganda’s past internet blackout, Nepal’s app bans, and many other historical examples. While Bluetooth-based meshes help locally, they falter over distances beyond a few hundred meters without denser user bases. That said, additional hardware like the devices offered by GoTenna can extend this via radio frequencies, creating larger ad-hoc networks up to several kilometers per hop, which are used in disaster zones and off-grid scenarios. There are also various subreddits and initiatives where people dream about a day when mesh networks could replace the centralized, real-world infrastructure that supports the internet today.

Satellite options like Starlink further complicate government controls by beaming access from orbit. While still enabling internet access via a centralized source, the internet provider from SpaceX still allows for an alternative way to stay connected when local options are disabled, whether intentionally or not. For example, Sudanese users relied on it during a February 2024 outage amid civil conflict, and Afghan activists used it to dodge Taliban-imposed nationwide restrictions in late 2025.

As indicated by the current situation in Uganda, Starlink’s official position is that it doesn’t support regions where it is not officially licensed, regulated, and allowed to operate. That said, there have been reports of users on Reddit activating Starlink terminals in one country and then operating on a roaming basis in another.

With expanding tools like Starlink and mesh networking solutions, restricting connectivity grows tougher outside extreme, completely totalitarian cases like North Korea, where USB drives and smuggled media still penetrate borders despite total isolation.