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Bitchat – A decentralized messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks

(github.com)
770 points ananddtyagi | 3 comments | 07 Jul 25 00:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.449s | source
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moneywaters ◴[07 Jul 25 05:35 UTC] No.44487086[source]▶
I’ve been toying with a concept inspired by Apple’s Find My network: Imagine a decentralized, delay-tolerant messaging system where messages hop device-to-device (e.g., via Bluetooth, UWB, Wi-Fi Direct), similar to how “Find My” relays location via nearby iPhones.

Now add a twist: • Senders pay a small fee to send a message. • Relaying devices earn a micro-payment (could be tokens, sats, etc.) for carrying the message one hop further. • End-to-end encrypted, fully decentralized, optionally anonymous.

Basically, a “postal network” built on people’s phones, without needing a traditional internet connection. Works best in areas with patchy or no internet, or under censorship.

Obvious challenges: • Latency and reliability (it’s not real-time). • Abuse/spam prevention. • Power consumption and user opt-in. • Viable incentive structures.

What do you think? Is this viable? Any real-world use cases where this might be actually useful — or is it just a neat academic toy?

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1. huslage ◴[07 Jul 25 14:06 UTC] No.44490521[source]▶
Why does anyone need a cash incentive to pass a message silently? There is literally zero marginal cost to them to do this. Why does everything have to cost/make money?
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2. teiferer ◴[07 Jul 25 14:55 UTC] No.44491047[source]▶
It costs energy.

It's very little energy, but it's literally non-zero, so definitely not "literally zero marginal cost".

Why would the user care if it's negligible? Because very-small-but-nonzero things scale very differently from actual zero things. If the price of injecting something is zero or almost zero, then this gets quickly abused and suddenly your battery drains like crazy because somebody decided that this is an excellent new vector to serve spam. So everybody will deinstall/deactivate this.

And that's why we can't have nice things.

3. immibis ◴[09 Jul 25 01:15 UTC] No.44505458[source]▶
I see it as an anti-spam measure. If sending a message costs nothing I could just flood you with messages as fast as you can forward them. That's probably not okay with you. But if you get paid then it probably is okay with you.