Over 48,000 people in Nepal downloaded Bitchat, Jack Dorsey's Bluetooth mesh and encrypted messaging app, during youth-led Nepal protests against corruption. The spike followed a nationwide social media ban that blocked Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. The government lifted the ban later that week.
According to Bitcoin open source developer @callebtc, who works on Bitchat, downloads jumped from 3,344 to 48,781 within days. He said the team observed a similar pattern in Indonesia protests the prior week. The developer cited charts showing Nepal leading all countries by a wide margin.
"Last week, we observed a sudden spike in Bitchat downloads from Indonesia... Today we are seeing an even bigger spike from Nepal,"
@callebtc posted on X. The post framed Bitchat as a response to censorship and connectivity limits during unrest.
Security forces used live fire and tear gas as the Nepal protests escalated. Reports cited at least 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Crowds set fires at parliament and the supreme court as the situation deteriorated.
Authorities imposed the social media ban to slow the spread of anti-government content. However, the restrictions pushed many users toward encrypted messaging tools like Bitchat. As tensions eased, officials rolled back the ban.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli faced corruption allegations that included misuse of public funds and opacity in decision making. He later resigned. The resignation followed days of demonstrations and a surge in Bitchat activity.
Bitchat launched a public beta in July. The app uses Bluetooth mesh to relay messages device to device without the internet. Phones act as relays and pass messages across short distances, which can chain into longer routes.
The Bitchat white paper describes a fully decentralized approach. It uses no central servers and requires no accounts, emails, or phone numbers. This design reduces reliance on fragile network infrastructure during a social media ban.
Because Bluetooth mesh operates locally, Bitchat can function when mobile data is disrupted. The encrypted messaging model aims to keep content private while maintaining basic communication. Users in Nepal leaned on that feature set during the Nepal protests.
The Nepal protests and Indonesia protests show how people adopt freedom tech such as Bitchat during crackdowns. Users value encrypted messaging, offline operation, and minimal registration. These characteristics help when censorship rises.
In Europe, the EU Chat Control proposal would require scanning of messages before encryption. Privacy groups say this approach undermines encrypted messaging. Providers like Signal and Damus have warned about risks to confidentiality.
Lawmakers in several EU member states continue to debate the measure. A final vote could hinge on key countries. The outcome would influence encrypted messaging tools that users adopt during bans like the one in Nepal.
Alternatives such as Signal, Damus, Session, and Status provide encrypted messaging and varying degrees of decentralization. Their user bases are growing, but they remain smaller than mainstream platforms.
Meta reported about 3.48 billion average daily users across Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram in June. That figure rose by six percent year over year. The scale illustrates how central platforms still dominate daily communication.
Even so, short spikes in Bitchat use during the Nepal protests highlight a distinct adoption pattern. People move to encrypted messaging and Bluetooth mesh when censorship or outages limit regular services. The downloads data from Nepal and Indonesia underscores that shift.