In today’s world, it’s difficult to imagine that more than 4 billion people do not have access to the Internet. Moreover, for many people in developing countries access is limited to a few hours per month, due to the cost of data. For some, access could even be limited or monitored by their respective governments. This is where Bridgefy, a connectivity app that even works offline, comes in. Communicating without the Internet is its USP.
Bridgefy creates a “Bluetooth Mesh” that connects users in proximity, & also allows communication for more distant contacts by using the devices on the mesh as a ‘bridge’ to hop over.
Ultimately, this results in free communication between users. The ‘Bridgefy’ team claims this communication is “safer” than the traditional Internet for users wanting to circumvent the ‘listening-in’ power of government or other agencies.
The messaging app is available on both the Apple & Google Play Stores for users to communicate with any contacts on their phone’s contact list who have the app installed. After downloading the app, users need to connect to the Internet to download a list of contacts, which Bridgefy enables by sending an SMS to the user’s device. Once this functionality is installed the app can be used 100% offline. Which means communicating without the Internet becomes real.
Peer-to-peer communication is limited to 330 feet/100 meters if there are no other users on the mesh, but if users are plentiful, the signal can ‘hop’ from device-to-device, creating an unlimited circle of communication. It is worth noting that direct messages on the platform are encrypted, while public broadcasting is not, so if you are serious about security only direct messaging is really safe.
Founded by Jorge Rios, Bridgefy has seen a phenomenal surge in popularity recently, with more than 60K downloads in the past week, mostly from Hong Kong.
The app has many other uses. Apart from messaging when a government limits access to the Internet, it can be used to communicate during natural disasters, or when access to the Internet is unavailable.
An SDK is offered by the company so that developers can integrate Bridgefy’s system into any app they are creating. To conclude, Bridgefy offers that chance to rural communities & those in third world countries, who do not have regular access to the Net, to communicate, while those in developed countries can take advantage of lower data costs.
Image Credit: Bridgefy
