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# No one can block everyone

How dictatorships oppose the Bitchat messenger

A new wave of interest in Jack Dorsey’s Bluetooth messenger Bitchat occurred in early 2026 amid escalating conflicts between citizens and authorities in two countries — Iran and Uganda. While in the first case, details of the events are almost impossible to track due to communication shutdowns, the second still allows for general insights into repression in the digital space and resistance to it.

Before the Ugandan presidential elections scheduled for January 15, the government led by Yoweri Kaguta Museveni announced preparations to counter the decentralized radio messenger. Museveni’s opponent — singer and human rights activist Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, called on supporters to install Bitchat to ensure a fair election outcome.

In a new ForkLog article, a detailed analysis of the situation in this small African country is provided, along with an assessment of mesh network capabilities in real “silence” conditions.

Preventive Vacuum

In July 2025, Twitter co-founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey introduced Bitchat, a Bluetooth-based messenger that works without internet connection. The decentralized app, developed in a few days using vibcoding, initially attracted only enthusiasts. But within two months, Bitchat was actively used by protesters in Indonesia and Nepal, and in October, it became the sole communication tool after a hurricane in Jamaica.

The peak of interest in the product came in January 2026, amid mass protests in Iran. For demonstrators, Bitchat is an alternative means to fight shutdowns, independent of government and corporate decisions.

Satellite internet would have been useful for the opposition in Uganda, where authorities traditionally block communication tools before elections. But Elon Musk is never quick to engage in charity. He only opened free access to Starlink in Iran on January 13, two weeks after the start of mass street protests, when U.S. President Donald Trump officially announced support for the protesters. Thus, civil society gained an additional tool for resistance alongside the “people’s” Bitchat.

Uganda’s sitting president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Source: The Telegraph. The Ugandan authorities prepared for a shutdown as early as late 2025. On December 19, the Tax Authority banned the import of Starlink terminals. Access was maintained only for those with written permission from the army commander — who is also the president’s son — General Mughuz Kainerugaba.

Despite the import ban, many terminals previously smuggled into the country continued to operate. As a result, authorities decided to pressure Musk’s company.

On January 1, at the request of the Ugandan Communications Commission, Starlink activated geolocation blocking. All equipment within the country became useless.

Charismatic opposition leader Bobi Wine opposed Museveni’s policies and developed a plan to counter communication shutdowns to record actual voting results.

Candidate for Ugandan president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine). Source: The Telegraph. On December 30, 2025, Wine urged supporters to download Bitchat. His plan was to use the messenger to exchange protocol data from polling stations among observers in the absence of internet.

Wine also appealed to Musk to reconsider his company’s decision regarding Uganda and restore satellite coverage. In his post, he sarcastically noted the billionaire’s joyful reaction to the overthrow of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and ignoring the situation in Africa.

Hey @elonmusk, as you cheer the fall of a dictator in Venezuela, here in Uganda your @Starlink has disabled citizens’ access to its internet just days to the January 15th election in which we seek to peacefully end Museveni’s 40-year-old dictatorship!

Like other dictators,… pic.twitter.com/fv4lwHhwBp

— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) January 4, 2026

Resistance

Initially, authorities strongly denied plans to disconnect communications, but by January 13, they carried out their plan. The directive came from the Ugandan Communications Commission. At 6:00 PM local time, public access to stationary and mobile internet was shut down, authorities banned the sale and registration of SIM cards, and outgoing roaming and VPNs were blocked.

The regulator cited recommendations from the Interagency Security Committee to combat “disinformation, election fraud, and incitement to violence.”

The commission became the first government body in the world to declare decisive opposition to the decentralized Bitchat messenger, which surprised many. Most users on X (formerly Twitter) involved in the topic did not understand how it was technically possible to suppress Bluetooth signals across Uganda.

Google Trends search data reflects the public’s interest in the only remaining communication method for the population. The last peak occurred just before the shutdown on January 12–13.

Source: Google Trends One of the leading developers of Bitchat, under the pseudonym Calle, called on Ugandan programmers to join the project’s development.

you can’t stop bitchat. you can’t stop us.

I invite every Ugandan developer to join the global open source movement and contribute. we don’t need anyone’s permission to write code.

free and open source. unstoppable. from the people for the people. https://t.co/i7MzcEbsYS

— calle (@callebtc) January 6, 2026

Experts in mesh networks and concerned individuals actively engaged on X. Most commentators believed the government would not find effective methods to counter the decentralized network.

Streisand Effect, in full effect, in Uganda where the regime told people not to use the nostr-based bitchat, which is now going mega-viral https://t.co/5PkBdyjDig

— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) January 6, 2026

Bitchat’s working principles are elegantly simple, built on developments and experiments with mesh networks from 50 years ago.

A mesh network is a computer network built on a cell principle, where workstations connect to each other and can act as switches for other participants. The app has no centralized servers; messages are stored in encrypted form on users’ devices.

Smartphones A and B can communicate directly if nearby. Smartphone B, in turn, can contact device C, which is too far from A. Then B, acting as a relay, forwards the message from C to A.

On January 12, Calle announced an update for resilient communication support in Uganda based on an encrypted messenger.

In version V1 Bitchat beta, the firmware can turn a LoRa network device into a regular Bitchat node. Messages from nearby users are automatically relayed via long-range antennas.

https://t.co/pEWeeC2Xzv

— calle (@callebtc) January 12, 2026

Theoretically, this provides a huge advantage, but in Uganda, importing the necessary devices is currently almost impossible.

According to Calle, around 1% of the population downloaded Bitchat on January 6. According to Chromestats, at the time of writing, the worldwide Android version downloads exceeded 1.5 million, with about 125,000 new users in a week.

Source: Chromestats.## Election Day

Ahead of the elections, Uganda’s population found itself in digital isolation. Security forces and armored vehicles were deployed in Kampala.

Using privileged internet access, police did not forget to mention heightened security measures.

Policing the Thursday General Elections: Security on High Alert Ahead of Tomorrow’s Polls#UgandaDecides2026 pic.twitter.com/zOD02n0gRY

— Uganda Police Force (@PoliceUg) January 14, 2026

The sensational statement by the head of the Electoral Commission, Simon ByaBakama, added fuel to the fire.

On January 14, he reported receiving direct threats from unnamed high-ranking officials demanding he not declare certain candidates as winners.

ByaBakama publicly stated that he “does not distribute votes” and will announce the results as they are at the polling stations.

Election day will be a test not only for Ugandan residents but for the entire world. If Bobi Wine’s team’s plan works, mesh networks will reach a qualitatively new level.

The main question troubling advocates of freedom and equality: what does the government have up its sleeve, and is there anything at all?

If officials’ statements are not bluffing, the world will witness another failure in the fight against dictatorship. But what methods might security forces use?

Disabling a decentralized system like Bitchat is much more difficult than a regular messenger because it has no central servers to block at the provider level. However, there are ways to disrupt the network “on the ground.”

The following technical methods of suppressing decentralized communication can be identified:

• Broadband jamming. Radio-electronic warfare (REW) systems (РЭБ) can flood the entire frequency range with powerful white noise. This makes any Bluetooth data exchange impossible within a certain radius;
• Targeted control channel jamming. Bluetooth uses three specific channels (37, 38, and 39) for device discovery and message broadcasting. Modern REW systems can scan the airwaves and jam only these frequencies, preventing phones from “seeing” each other and forming a network;
• “Black hole” attack. Agents with specially modified devices that look like regular Bitchat nodes can be inserted into crowds. They receive messages from neighbors but do not forward them. If many such “dead” nodes exist, network integrity breaks down, and messages get stuck within small groups;
• Packet flooding. An attacking device can send thousands of junk messages per second, overloading the phone’s processor and quickly draining the battery. Users would need to turn off Bluetooth to avoid device hangs;
• Exploitation of code vulnerabilities. In July 2025, a critical vulnerability related to signature processing in Bitchat’s code was discovered. Malicious actors can send specially crafted “corrupted” data that causes the app to crash on all smartphones within Bluetooth range;
• “Poisoned” installation files. Security services can create fake versions of Bitchat that look identical to the original but contain hidden code blocking certain messages or providing user coordinates to authorities;
• Triangulation and direction finding. Any phone with Bluetooth enabled constantly emits radio signals. Using directional antennas and triangulation algorithms, security agencies can locate active mesh network nodes within a crowd with meter accuracy and physically detain relays.

On a national scale, the Ugandan government will not be able to “turn off” Bitchat. But managing a few squares or polling stations is likely within their capacity.

In October 2025, as part of aid from Russia, the Ugandan army received military equipment worth $53 million. The equipment included obstacle clearance vehicles, trench diggers, boats, workshops, and a coastal station.

Source: African Initiative. The coastal station may include a basic setup with GPS, powerful transceiving antennas, radar, and communication tools for vessel identification, size, course determination, and coordination with ships and aircraft.

**

According to recent reports, Bobi Wine was under heavy police and military surveillance at his home in Magera and could hardly leave.

Last campaign rally in Mende, Busiro East.#ANewUgandaNow #ProtestVote2026 #PeoplePowerOurPower pic.twitter.com/93hgzPPGIQ

— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) January 13, 2026

He delivered his final speech of the protest campaign on January 13 in Busiro East, followed by communication shutdown and a temporary “house arrest” of the opposition leader. At the rally, Wine wore a bulletproof vest and replaced his usual red beret with a tactical helmet.

Shortly before these events, in an interview with The Telegraph, Wine admitted he was experiencing physical and emotional fatigue:

“Waking up every day knowing you’ll see someone run over by a car, someone injured. You just don’t know who it will be today. It’s huge stress, you understand? But at the end of each day, you want to return. Because while you mourn losses, you see inspiration born right before your eyes. And that makes all the effort worth it.”