Hyderabad: People find ‘App’t ways to communicate

Hyderabad: In light of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Delhi and other parts of India and the internet shutdown in multiple states, people in the National Capital Region (NCR) have found a way to stay connected — via apps. These apps do not require internet connectivity.

These apps provide peer-to-peer connectivity and Bluetooth-based communication. Among them are Briar Project App, FireChat, Bridgefy and Serval Mesh. “We have received close to 40 complaints from people about the internet shutdown,” a representative from internetshutdowns.in, said. “Not everyone who leaves work is going to protest, some of us have had to go work. There has been no internet connection in the area for the last 24 hours. Even if there is connection, it is extremely slow,” Mr T Rajat Kumar, a resident of Ghaziabad, told Deccan Chronicle from Delhi. He said some of his friends were using FireChat, a messaging app, which does not require internet or cellular data. The app provides an open wireless service functioning on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi hotspots. Briar is another app that is being extensively used. If the internet’s down, Briar can sync via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, keeping the information flowing. Serval Mesh is available for Android mobile phones.  Many of these apps do not rely on a central server and can sync messages between phone devices.