WEAR
A watch build
Join the nearby mesh from Wear OS, including public chat, direct messages, voice notes, and files. Use the watch APK only on the watch.
Android · version 2.0.1
Download the bitchat APK, then check the hash.
bitchat is a peer-to-peer messenger. Nearby phones can carry messages over a Bluetooth mesh when the internet is down. When a network is available, the same app can reach geohash rooms over Nostr. No account and no phone number are required to start.
The file above is a mirror of bitchat-android-universal.apk from the public GitHub release. Canonical page: permissionlesstech/bitchat-android v2.0.1.
OfflineBluetooth LE mesh, up to 7 hops
OnlineNostr relays and geohash rooms
Private DMsNoise Protocol, XX pattern
OpenPublic-domain Android source
01 — What you are getting
A messenger that still works in a crowd with no signal.
Most chat apps stop when the tower or the Wi-Fi does. bitchat is built the other way around. Phones that can hear each other over Bluetooth Low Energy form a small mesh. Your phone sends a packet to someone nearby, and that phone can pass it on.
The project calls the result a side-groupchat: a room that does not sit on one company’s server. The Android app speaks the same protocol as the iOS app, so a mixed group can share one local mesh. Internet features, including location rooms, are a second path, not a requirement for the local one.
This website explains the app, hosts the signed release files, and shows the checksums. It is not the project, and it is not a store. If Google Play lists the app where you live, that listing is another official route. If it does not, the GitHub-signed APK is the sideload build the maintainers publish.
02 — On the version we mirror
What 2.0.1 adds before you install it.
VOICE
Push-to-talk
Live voice in public channels and in encrypted direct messages, with a slide-to-cancel control described in the release notes.
MAP
Geohash globe
An offline 3D globe for browsing location channels, with country borders and a quality setting. The rooms themselves still need the internet.
LOCK
Chats that stay
Private conversations keep history, unread state, and favorites across restarts, with controls for deleting a thread.
CASHU
Token preview
The app can recognize Cashu eCash tokens. A token is a bearer instrument: anyone who copies it may be able to redeem it.
CHECK
Reproducible build
The maintainers describe 2.0.1 as the first release where the full app was rebuilt twice and the unsigned bytes matched before signing.
03 — Before you tap install
Four checks that take a minute.
- Pick the right file. Universal if you are unsure. ARM64 if you want the smaller phone build. Never install the Wear file on a phone.
- Compare the SHA-256. The download page prints the full hash. On a computer,
sha256sumorshasum -a 256should print the same string. - Allow the install for one app. Android calls this “install unknown apps” and scopes it to Chrome, Files, or whichever app saved the APK. Turn it off later if you want.
- Grant Bluetooth when the app asks. Android also asks for location because the system ties that permission to Bluetooth scanning. The install guide explains each prompt.
04 — Guides
Read the part you actually need.
What bitchat is
The two transports, what “no servers” does and does not mean, and who publishes the app.
How the mesh moves a message
Range, hops, relays, and why a phone in a pocket can still fail to deliver.
Compared with other messengers
Where bitchat is useful beside WhatsApp, Telegram, and SMS, and where it is the wrong tool.
Geohash channels
How a short code becomes a room for a neighborhood or a city without publishing a street address.
What stays private
Encryption, the device identifier nearby radios can see, Tor, and the emergency wipe.
Nostr, when you are online
Why the internet half of the app looks nothing like the Bluetooth half.
05 — Short answers
Questions people ask before they install.
Where does the APK on this site come from?
The files are the signed Android builds from the public GitHub release v2.0.1 of permissionlesstech/bitchat-android, published on 11 August 2026. bitchat.cc stores a copy so the download is available from this domain. The canonical release page remains on GitHub. Compare the SHA-256 on the download page with the file you received before you install it.
Is bitchat.cc the official bitchat website?
No. The project site is bitchat.free. The Android source is maintained by the permissionlesstech organization on GitHub. The Play listing has been published under the package com.bitchat.droid. bitchat.cc is an independent guide and file mirror. We do not run the mesh, the Nostr relays, or the app stores.
Which APK should I download?
Choose the universal APK unless you know you want a smaller file. The project says most phones should use bitchat-android-universal.apk. The ARM64 build is smaller and fits modern 64-bit phones. The Wear OS build is only for a watch. The x86_64 build is for emulators.
What Android version does bitchat need?
The Android project builds for API 26 and newer, which is Android 8.0 and later. The phone also needs Bluetooth Low Energy. A watch needs Wear OS and the separate watch APK.