FireChat
FireChat works even without an Internet connection or cellular phone coverage. Use it anywhere: planes, public transportation, cruise ships, campuses, and crowded events. All you need is a few people around you using FireChat.
Bluetooth and WiFi need to be "on" to send and receive messages when not connected to a network (yes please turn WiFi on, even if you don't have access to the Internet). And if you are connected to a cellular network or WiFi access point, then FireChat will work too.
You will be automatically connected directly with one another, creating your own network for public and private communications. The more people use it, the bigger and faster your network becomes.
And when you do have access to a reliable Internet connection or cellular network, FireChat helps you reach people worldwide and build your audience faster than on any social network, for free.
Leaders, artists, communities and organizations (news, cultural, humanitarian, sports...) love how quickly FireChat scales. FireChat helps them communicate instantly with large groups of people to achieve their goals.
Get FireChat now with a few friends and start something.
========= How does this work ? =========
FireChat creates a mesh network using Bluetooth and peer-to-peer WiFi. FireChat transmits messages and pictures offline between devices that are located within 200 feet of one another.
Thanks to FireChat’s innovative multi-hop and store-and-forward capabilities, FireChat users form a network that increases in size with the number of devices. It allows messages to hop from one device to the next in order to reach the recipient(s). This is why the more people use FireChat, the better and the larger the network becomes (unlike with cellular networks).
On the mesh network, messages are transmitted seamlessly from one device to the next in order to reach the recipient(s). When an Internet connection or cellular network is available, FireChat uses them to reach remote recipients.
Public messages are visible by anyone. Private messages are encrypted and can only be seen and read by the sender and the recipient.
========= Features =========
• Instantly send messages and photos to anyone around you
• Send private messages that only you and the recipient can read thanks to end-to-end encryption
• Instantly create live chatrooms for discussions on any topic with a few people or as many as tens of thousands of simultaneous users
• Type a hashtag in any message to automatically create a new chatroom
• View the most popular messages in the public conversations
• Public chatrooms and private messages work both offline and online
• Works even without any Internet connection, mobile phone coverage , or data plan
• Devices connect directly with one another within 200 feet of their location
• Multihop and store-and-forward technology create larger networks when several people use FireChat
FireChat has been featured by CNN, the BBC, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Time, and many more around the world.
FireChat is often used at live events
- such as the visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines in January 2015
- and large festivals including SXSW where it received an Innovation Award in March 2015.
Category : Social
Reviews (26)
So i went to put FireChat on my new phone bc i had used it through several hurricanes, but my old phone had died. I downloaded it only to get errors. I did some investigating and the app was shut down in 2018. It's still on here, so I'm assuming that someone might be waiting to have it revamped or better supported. I forgot the reason for the shut down (it's not on the wiki, but there was an interview about it).
I really love the idea of this app. But functionally, its useless. There are so many bugs, from having to reset passwords multiple times in a row in order to login, to not being able to find rooms or figure out settings. Someday I would LOVE to see a working version of this, especially living in the fire-prone North Bay, CA but this is not it.
rated as a great app to use when you are in a group with no internet. could not get it to register a username. the interface seems straight forward, but could never register a user name. downloaded and installed before i left on my trip, but could never get past registration.
Firechat concept is amazing. Though, the app seems completely abandoned and broken. Their server has been broken for a while, so the app just keeps saying there's an error on the server side and you won't even be able to register yourself in order to use the app. Which is sad. Hopefully someone will take this project ahead.
I love the concept, just locked up. Also, there needs to be a better power manager that can idle power consumption. Doesn't, need full coverage all the time it's on. Some kind of intermittent sniffer algorithm. I Will reinstall, and even buy it when improved.
I remember I registered a while back but can't login. So I re-registered but encountered tons of errors. When I finally decided to give up, I was surprised to receive a verification email. Got myself verified then attempted to login. App said my email / pass was invalid 🤷♀️ Don't waste your time and phone space on this. It's useless.
I will change the rating once its sorted.. it is saying I can register but it will not come off the loading screen after that! So if its not sorted I will have to uninstall.. This would be good as my daughter doesn't have credit and she could get in touch with me when she is out and about.. fix or its getting uninstalled.!
I installed it not only on my phone but my partners as well. we needed to register which is fair enough but we have been stuck on a loading screen and we have waited at least 30+ min and nothing. we tried again and same out come. I've uninstalled and reinstalled ... nothing... this app is great!
The idea itself is great, but the app is really problematic - I still can't make it work offline (without an internet connection) even the two phones being centimeters away from each other; and the app crashes a lot.
I don't mind paying a bit as long as this works. I tested on two devices, with wifi it's working, but without wifi, doesn't work. Tried device1 with wifi, and device2 without wifi, still don't work. Amazing concept, but more fantastic if it's working.
Installed to see if I should recommend to family who were about to get hit with Hurricane Florence. After installing my phone started randomly turning off WIF and bluetooth leaving only mobile on. Uninstalled and all was fine This apps is poor and should be avoided especially since most would be downloading this to be prepared for an emergency and would not want to deal with a flaky app when they have serious issues they are concerned with
I could not finish setting up my account. I registered a username and password and got as far as entering my email address and the app hung up, spinning wheel, and wouldn't go any farther. This happened twice. Uninstalled.
does not work as expected or advertised. was expecting this to connect to other firechat user using the wifi or bluetooth without a cellular or other internet connection. connect device to device as nodes. it does not. not android to iPhone or iPhone to iPhone. all phone warn that there is no internet connection when turned on airplane mode with wifi and bluetooth on. these are with already connected phones in an established private chat room. too bad.
Brilliant idea, but this app is useless now. Development has been abandoned, and consequently installing the app causes Blueooth and wifi issues on Android Oreo and Pie devices. Basically the app is useless, all the while it generates ad revenue for the developer from unsuspecting users who are left troubleshooting a non-viable cell phone.
Ok... Great app with ONE HUGE FLAW! how will people check their email & sign up during a disaster with no internet etc.... I mean that's just funny it's so dumb. You MUST provide some sort of offline registration for this to ever be useful in an emergency situation. Right now it's just high school kids bypassing WiFi locks to text each other in class LOL. Come on, fix this. Another app I'm deciding about called "Briar" & another called "Signal offline messenger" are good examples of how to do the initial setup for an account. unless I'm missing something? otherwise this is a FABULOUS APP
Have not been able to register for two weeks. "Unable to register: null". If it seems too good to be true, it is! Uninstalled from both devices! Sluggish and not responsive.
Firechat, you need to fix your app. Several people, including myself, are very upset that this app is supposed to let you communicate without wifi or mobile data, yet, the app is slow and wont even allow users to register their account. And im seeing reviews about the app not letting users register from months ago, yet the bug isnt fixed yet? Sad. Uninstalled from my device.
Security analysis has shown that data sent via FireChat to other nearby users is trivial to intercept and spoof. So encouraging users to authenticate with personally identifying data like an email address or phone number, and giving the impression of confidentiality with "password protection" actually encourages users to use the app in a way that puts themselves at risk. Yet the app cannot be used without going through this registration process. Highly irresponsible - can only conclude this app is here as some kind of honeypot for anyone seeking decentralized communications.
This app caused my Bluetooth to turn off every time I unlocked the phone. Was a major headache identifying the culprit. Did not get a chance to use the functionality. This occurred on my Oneplus 6 on both oreo and pie.
Very poor, I'm afraid. Really wanted to like this app, but the sign up didn't work for my friend and I couldn't get Offline messaging to work at all, which sort of defeats the point, doesn't it?! No good, sorry.
Downloaded the app, opened it, and it wont even let me register without the screen loading and giving me the error message, "unable to register : null." I uninstalled and reinstalled twice, with the same error.
Tried multiple times to get this working. Flat out doesn't work from the get go. Can't even register. An further more even after using the app and closing it, its glitching out my phone.
I never got the chance to use the app because I was too busy trying to figure out why my Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were turning off and on randomly. Everything is fine now that it's uninstalled. What a piece of garbage!
Keeps loading no network. I want to deactivate my account because of that and still cannot because of the same issue. Want to deactivate it before uninstalling. Jeez!😡
This app was the culprit in repeatedly turning off Bluetooth every time my phone went to standby. Frustrating! FIX IT. This many people with the same issue and still no fix?!?!
The truth is, this app has a great concept but needs work with compatibility. We used it on a cruise ship this past week to "piggyback" off the ship's wifi without paying for a package. It worked... kinda. We could send and receive messages sometimes, but they were generally delayed. I noticed the app was also turning off wifi at times, removing the possibility to get messages until within bluetooth range, defeating the need. Like I said, good concept, but needs some work. Will reinstall if issues are fixed.