FireChat’s Off-Grid Messenger Gets Smart Private Messaging Feature | TechCrunch

The major innovation of FireChat was that it allowed users to chat in groups even when there was no Internet connection available. The app would use available Wi-Fi networks (whether they are connected to the wider Internet), Bluetooth and other connections to set up a local network that people could use to chat — both anonymously and with their real names. With this update, it will also allow users to send private messages, even if they have to bridge multiple local networks and then hop onto the Internet at some point to get to their final destination (which itself may be a few hops away from an Internet on-ramp).