With Internet Shutdowns Rising, Use These Apps To Chat Offline

Some of these only work on Android phones, but there are a few which work on iPhones also.

It is a well-documented fact that India is in the top five countries when it comes to shutting down the internet for various reasons.

Amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Thursday, 19 December, internet, voice and messaging services by telecom service providers including Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio were suspended in parts of Delhi-NCR following instructions from the police.

The anti-CAA unrest has forced the government to shut down mobile internet service, wherever and whenever necessary to try and curb spread of information. However, this has prompted people to resort to using different platforms that tend to work even without having an active internet connection.

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Here’s a list of apps quoted in this report by Geckoandfly that will help you in such situations.

FireChat

This app lets users communicate with nearby devices without Internet or mobile phone coverage. The app also lets people use standard Internet connectivity to participate in a running conversation with FireChat users anywhere in the world.

The app uses Bluetooth to connect to nearby phones that also have the app installed. The company describes it as "crowdsourcing the connectivity of those around you."

The "Serval Mesh" software works by using the phone's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to communicate with other phones. You also have an ‘Everyone’ mode, from where you can see what all the people are talking about.

It allows one to easily make private phone calls, send secure text messages even when cellular networks fail or are unavailable.

Supports: Android and iOS

Signal Offline

Signal offline messenger is a Wi-Fi Direct based app. With this app, one can communicate without internet or local network in a range of up to 100 metres. You can chat with one person or a group using this app. The company says all the chats done via the app are secured.

"Users can share audio, text, photo and video messages to nearby users over Wi-Fi Direct".

But it’s worth informing that the app is not the same as the main Signal app (made by Signal Foundation). This offline Signal app has been developed by a Bengaluru-based firm called Khokho Developer.

Supports: Android

Vojer

This app lets you make voice calls in high quality, even if there is no connection available on your device. The company’s listing says it won’t ask for access to your phone book, and will only seek permissions for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microphone and camera to operate its features.

Supports: iOS

Bridgefy

This is another app that works offline and can be used when you’re at a music event, natural disaster or even travelling abroad, and you don’t want to pay for the roaming charges.

This app caters to three ways of chatting for the user. You can chat one-to-one, using the mesh mode, you can connect with multiple people (by creating a Wi-Fi signal) and third is the broadcast mode, which allows anybody in your vicinity to see messages, even if they are not on your contact list.

Supports: Android and iOS

Briar

This app also works when the internet’s down, it can sync via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, keeping the information flowing in a crisis, as mentioned by the company. If the internet’s up, Briar can sync via the Tor network, protecting users and their relationships from surveillance, it adds.

Supports: Android and iOS