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* Require confirmation before deleting a received image; label media controls
Double-tapping a received image permanently deleted the message and its
file — no confirmation, no undo — while double-tap is the most ingrained
photo gesture on mobile, and it raced the reveal tap via
`.exclusively(before:)`. A mesh may never re-deliver that image, so an
accidental double-tap can destroy the only copy.
- Remove the double-tap-to-delete gesture. Delete moves into a
long-press context menu behind a confirmation dialog ("this cannot be
undone — the sender may not be in range to send it again"), alongside
explicit open and hide-image actions (the swipe-to-re-blur was
undiscoverable). Taps now only reveal and open.
- The blur overlay says "tap to reveal" instead of a bare eye-slash.
- Add the first accessibility support to these media views: labeled
image states (hidden/revealed/sending) with custom actions, labeled
voice play/pause with the duration as the value, and labeled cancel
buttons.
Delete remains available and its underlying behavior is unchanged — it's
just gated. New strings are added source-language (en) only.
* Expose the in-flight cancel button to VoiceOver
The image tile uses accessibilityElement(children: .ignore), which
collapses the whole subtree — including the visible cancel button shown
while a send is in flight — into one element. VoiceOver users could not
cancel an in-progress image send. Add a cancel accessibility action for
the sending state.
* Mark the accessibility delete action destructive too
The context-menu delete already uses role: .destructive; the matching
accessibility action did not. Make them consistent.
* Deduplicate image actions and align accessibility labels with convention
Extract the open/hide/delete button set shared by the context menu and
accessibilityActions into a single @ViewBuilder so the two can't drift.
Move the interaction hints out of the accessibility labels into
accessibilityHint (labels stay nouns; "tap to reveal" was wrong for
VoiceOver activation anyway), and rename the blurred-state action to
"reveal image" since it reveals rather than opens.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Offer cancel-send in the context menu while an image is sending
The context menu body was empty during sends, which some OS versions
still present as an empty preview. The accessibility path already
exposed a cancel-send action in that state; share the same button with
the context menu so pointer/touch users get a cancel path too.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Label broken images honestly and drop actions that need the file
When the image file fails to load, the placeholder kept the "hidden
image"/"image" accessibility label with a reveal/open hint, and the
context menu still offered open/reveal on a URL that will not load.
Track the failed load, announce "image unavailable" with no interaction
hint, show a broken-photo glyph instead of an endless spinner, disable
the reveal/open gestures, and drop open/hide/reveal from the context
menu and accessibility actions -- keeping delete so received broken
attachments can still be cleaned up.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---------
Co-authored-by: jack <212554440+jackjackbits@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: jack <jackjackbits@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
bitchat
A decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app with dual transport architecture: local Bluetooth mesh networks for offline communication and internet-based Nostr protocol for global reach. No accounts, no phone numbers, no central servers. It's the side-groupchat.
License
This project is released into the public domain. See the LICENSE file for details.
Features
- Dual Transport Architecture: Bluetooth mesh for offline + Nostr protocol for internet-based messaging
- Location-Based Channels: Geographic chat rooms using geohash coordinates over global Nostr relays
- Intelligent Message Routing: Automatically chooses best transport (Bluetooth → Nostr fallback)
- Decentralized Mesh Network: Automatic peer discovery and multi-hop message relay over Bluetooth LE
- Privacy First: No accounts, no phone numbers, no persistent identifiers
- Private Message End-to-End Encryption: Noise Protocol for mesh, NIP-17 for Nostr
- IRC-Style Commands: Familiar
/slap,/msg,/whostyle interface - Universal App: Native support for iOS and macOS
- Emergency Wipe: Triple-tap to instantly clear all data
- Performance Optimizations: LZ4 message compression, adaptive battery modes, and optimized networking
Technical Architecture
BitChat uses a hybrid messaging architecture with two complementary transport layers:
Bluetooth Mesh Network (Offline)
- Local Communication: Direct peer-to-peer within Bluetooth range
- Multi-hop Relay: Messages route through nearby devices (max 7 hops)
- No Internet Required: Works completely offline in disaster scenarios
- Noise Protocol Encryption: End-to-end encryption with forward secrecy
- Binary Protocol: Compact packet format optimized for Bluetooth LE constraints
- Automatic Discovery: Peer discovery and connection management
- Adaptive Power: Battery-optimized duty cycling
Nostr Protocol (Internet)
- Global Reach: Connect with users worldwide via internet relays
- Location Channels: Geographic chat rooms using geohash coordinates
- 290+ Relay Network: Distributed across the globe for reliability
- NIP-17 Encryption: Gift-wrapped private messages for internet privacy
- Ephemeral Keys: Fresh cryptographic identity per geohash area
Channel Types
mesh #bluetooth
- Transport: Bluetooth Low Energy mesh network
- Scope: Local devices within multi-hop range
- Internet: Not required
- Use Case: Offline communication, protests, disasters, remote areas
Location Channels (block #dr5rsj7, neighborhood #dr5rs, country #dr)
- Transport: Nostr protocol over internet
- Scope: Geographic areas defined by geohash precision
block(7 chars): City block levelneighborhood(6 chars): District/neighborhoodcity(5 chars): City levelprovince(4 chars): State/provinceregion(2 chars): Country/large region
- Internet: Required (connects to Nostr relays)
- Use Case: Location-based community chat, local events, regional discussions
Direct Message Routing
Private messages use intelligent transport selection:
-
Bluetooth First (preferred when available)
- Direct connection with established Noise session
- Fastest and most private option
-
Nostr Fallback (when Bluetooth unavailable)
- Uses recipient's Nostr public key
- NIP-17 gift-wrapping for privacy
- Routes through global relay network
-
Smart Queuing (when neither available)
- Messages queued until transport becomes available
- Automatic delivery when connection established
For detailed protocol documentation, see the Technical Whitepaper.
Setup
Option 1: Using Xcode
cd bitchat
open bitchat.xcodeproj
To run on a device there're a few steps to prepare the code:
- Clone the local configs:
cp Configs/Local.xcconfig.example Configs/Local.xcconfig - Add your Developer Team ID into the newly created
Configs/Local.xcconfig- Bundle ID would be set to
chat.bitchat.<team_id>(unless you set to something else)
- Bundle ID would be set to
- Entitlements need to be updated manually (TODO: Automate):
- Search and replace
group.chat.bitchatwithgroup.<your_bundle_id>(e.g.group.chat.bitchat.ABC123)
- Search and replace
Option 2: Using just
brew install just
Want to try this on macos: just run will set it up and run from source.
Run just clean afterwards to restore things to original state for mobile app building and development.
Localization
- Base app resources live under
bitchat/Localization/Base.lproj/. Add new copy toLocalizable.stringsand plural rules toLocalizable.stringsdict. - Share extension strings are separate in
bitchatShareExtension/Localization/Base.lproj/Localizable.strings. - Prefer keys that describe intent (
app_info.features.offline.title) and reuse existing ones where possible. - Run
xcodebuild -project bitchat.xcodeproj -scheme "bitchat (macOS)" -configuration Debug CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO buildto compile-check any localization updates.