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Messaging App Bitchat Sees Unprecedented Boom Amid Madagascar Turmoil

Protests over repeated water and energy cuts have turned violent in Madagascar’s capital, and curiosity in offline messaging instruments has jumped alongside the unrest, based on a number of reviews and public alerts.

Protests Shake The Capital

Reports have disclosed that crowds took to the streets after days of blackouts and shortages. Authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew to attempt to cease looting and clashes.

Police used tear gasoline towards some demonstrators and not less than 5 deaths have been linked to the unrest. The stress on the federal government was high sufficient that the Energy minister was faraway from workplace amid the turmoil.

Bitchat Interest Surges

According to analytics cited by tech retailers, searches for the title “Bitchat” in Madagascar moved from 0 to 100 on Google Trends throughout the identical interval, an indication of intense relative curiosity in a brief window.

Chrome-Stats figures present 365,307 complete downloads of the app since launch, with 21,000 installs reported within the final 24 hours and 71,000 previously week — numbers that had been revealed as world totals.

According to reviews, associated queries reminiscent of “Bitchat obtain” and “methods to use Bitchat” had been marked as breakout subjects within the nation’s search exercise.

Bitchat is a Bluetooth mesh messaging software that may function with out an web connection or cellphone numbers.

Bitchat is tied to the blockchain and makes use of the Bitcoin community to finalize transactions and permits customers to securely ship Bitcoin over Bluetooth.

Its design emphasizes privateness via end-to-end encryption, ephemeral messages, and using cryptocurrency wallets as an alternative choice to conventional identifiers like cellphone numbers.

These technical options showcase usefulness when web service is proscribed or when people concern a disruption of their networks. Observers famous that there was a heightened degree of native curiosity when protests, and curfews had been in place.

Madagascar Struggles With Digital Divide As Most Residents Are Offline

According to DataReportal, at first of 2025, solely 6.6 million of almost 32 million residents in Madagascar are on-line. The information highlights the digital divide going through Madagascar, as restricted entry to data and financial alternative restrict progress.

The report additional signifies that over 18 million cell subscriptions are energetic, and plenty of depend on voice calling and SMS which doesn’t imply entry to the complete web, once more reflecting points with entry and affordability in Madagascar.

Featured picture from AFP, chart from TradingView

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