Messaging App Bitchat Sees Unprecedented Boom Amid Madagascar Turmoil

Protests over repeated water and power cuts have turned violent in Madagascar’s capital, and interest in offline messaging tools has jumped alongside the unrest, according to multiple reports and public ￰0￱ Shake The Capital Reports have disclosed that crowds took to the streets after days of blackouts and ￰1￱ imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew to try to stop looting and ￰2￱ used tear gas against some demonstrators and at least five deaths have been linked to the ￰3￱ pressure on the government was high enough that the Energy minister was removed from office amid the ￰4￱ Interest Surges According to analytics cited by tech outlets, searches for the name “Bitchat” in Madagascar moved from 0 to 100 on Google Trends during the same period, a sign of intense relative interest in a short window.

Chrome-Stats figures show 365,307 total downloads of the app since launch, with 21,000 installs reported in the last 24 hours and 71,000 in the past week — numbers that were published as global ￰5￱ to reports, related queries such as “Bitchat download” and “how to use Bitchat” were marked as breakout topics in the country’s search ￰6￱ is a Bluetooth mesh messaging tool that can operate without an internet connection or phone ￰7￱ downloads spiking in #madagascar ￰8￱ — calle (@callebtc) September 28, 2025 Bitchat is tied to the blockchain and uses the Bitcoin network to finalize transactions and allows users to securely send Bitcoin over ￰9￱ design emphasizes privacy through end-to-end encryption, ephemeral messages, and the use of cryptocurrency wallets as an alternative to traditional identifiers like phone ￰10￱ technical features showcase usefulness when internet service is limited or when individuals fear a disruption in their ￰11￱ noted that there was a heightened level of local interest when protests, and curfews were in ￰12￱ Struggles With Digital Divide As Most Residents Are Offline According to DataReportal , at the start of 2025, only 6.6 million of nearly 32 million residents in Madagascar are ￰13￱ data highlights the digital divide facing Madagascar, as limited access to information and economic opportunity limit ￰14￱ report further indicates that over 18 million mobile subscriptions are active, and many rely on voice calling and SMS which does not mean access to the full internet, again reflecting issues with access and affordability in ￰15￱ image from AFP, chart from TradingView