Firechat app allows users to message without an internet connection

In a new innovative approach, FireChat, a mobile app for iOS and Android, lets users chat and message each other without having a working mobile data connection.

In April 2014, we heard how "the technique might someday be used to tie together thousands of devices with built-in radios and make it possible to be online without having to pay for the access. It could also enable online communications in remote areas or disaster zones without Wi-Fi or cellular signals. Furthermore, the conversations in these so-called “off-the-grid” networks can’t be easily hacked into by spies and mischief makers or shut down by governments trying to stifle free speech."