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For some time it is not necessary to have an Internet connection to send messages to our friends and family. And no, this is not some cheap magic trick, but pure technology. Something that helped spread information already in the Arab Spring or in the Hong Kong demonstrations around 2013 and 2014 without the need for Wi-Fi networks. All this thanks to the FireChat application, which once again appears among the most downloaded tools on Google Play.
This is a most peculiar messaging application. And it is that it has its own networks to send messages between users The curious thing is that these networks are not from the Internet, but are the connections of the own users who use the application. In this way it is not necessary to have access to the Internet, just to be close to people who use this application and who transmit messages privately from one to another. By the way, it is a free app for both Android and iPhone.
No internet connection
FireChat develops all its value through its own platform. It does not use the networks and nodes of the Internet, but instead creates its own mesh network from the mobiles in which it is installed. In other words, thanks to WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity it is capable of transmitting a message to another user without consuming data of any kind.Of course, users have to be close to each other. At a maximum distance of about 60 meters, which is the area of influence of these connections.
The key is that the more users use FireChat, the wider the network of this application will be. And the faster the messages will arrive. Thus, it is possible to send a message to people who are far away. Out of the city. The only thing to do is make sure that the sender and receiver end up linked or close to intermediary people who constantly forward the message to its destination. Even when the network is intermittent or the intermediate user has to travel to be in contact with the recipient's network. In the end, by one means or another, the message ends up arriving
The good thing is that FireChat has thought big.This means that it is not necessary to have an Internet connection to send a message to the other side of the world. The FireChat message navigates through the users' mesh network until it finds someone with an Internet connection Thus, the message is sent securely and privately to others FireChat networks around the world. Always looking for the recipient to reach. Either through the Internet, or through the intranet created by FireChat users themselves.
Public and private chats
Of course, to send these messages it is necessary that the sending and receiving users have FireChat. Applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram are left out of the equation. The good thing is that it is a very complete application, with some interesting additions to meet the needs of other tools.
Thus, you have private messages that are encrypted and protected.This means that they travel from FireChat user to user until they find the recipient. However, only sender and receiver can read them Even if intercepted, encryption protects the content.
The other possibility is to create open and public groups. A kind of forum or mass chat where you can invite other users to share opinions and information. All this with the same working scheme of FireChat. In other words, without the need for a stable Internet connection to send or receive messages.
Multiple uses
FireChat emerged as a good tool to communicate between friends in places where the Internet connection fails. Events such as concerts where connectivity is saturated or does not arrive. However, its history has been linked to numerous situations of social protest.Currently it is possible to find open chats where different situations are reported regarding the crisis of the Catalan independence movement in Spain
