Downloads for decentralized messaging app Bitchat has surged in Jamaica as 185-mile-per-hour winds batter the Caribbean, cutting off communication. Jamaicans have rushed to download Jack Dorsey’s decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app Bitchat as the fatal Hurricane Melissa continues to rip through the Caribbean. Bitchat which uses Bluetooth mesh networks for internet-free, encrypted communication is now the second-most downloaded app on the Apple App Store and Google Play in Jamaica, offering a lifeline for 2. 8 million people as internet coverage continues to falter in the region. Bitchat only trails weather forecast platform Zoom Earth indicating that two of their most basic needs right now are to know what the weather is, and to communicate with one another. Read more.