Bitchat has turn into Uganda’s most downloaded app after state authorities confirmed that web entry was minimize and can stay inaccessible in the course of the presidential election interval, which begins on Thursday.
The election marks the third yr in a row that Ugandan authorities have shut down entry to the web, which officers say is important to scale back the unfold of misinformation on-line.
However critics say shutting down the web might suppress election-related data and probably manipulate the outcomes.
The web shutdown got here into impact at 6pm native time on Tuesday, Nyombi Ssembo, government director of the Uganda Communications Fee, mentioned in a press release on X.
Bitchat, an internet-free encrypted messaging app that makes use of a Bluetooth mesh community, is at present on the prime of the app charts on Apple App Retailer and Google Play in Uganda.
Different prime purposes embrace digital personal community apps, highlighting that entry to data stays one among Uganda’s most urgent wants as Thursday’s vote approaches.
Bitchat’s rating within the free part of the Apple App Retailer in Uganda. sauce: app determine
Tembo mentioned final week that the web wouldn’t be shut down.
“Why use bitch chat when you’ve the web? The web is right here to remain, use the web,” he mentioned final week. He additionally claimed that the group has the technical potential to disable bitch chat.
In keeping with information shared by Kalu on January 5, greater than 400,000 Ugandans have downloaded the app, and that quantity could now be a lot larger.
Uganda has now shut down web entry thrice
Through the 2016 election, Uganda’s longtime president Yoweri Museveni shut down entry to the web and social media nationwide, citing safety and security issues.
An analogous scenario occurred in 2021, when a four-day web blackout started on election night time.
Bitchat is used in every single place on the planet
Since then, Bitchat has turn into an necessary answer for individuals in international locations the place web entry has been disrupted because of authorities intervention or pure disasters.
Practically 50,000 Nepali customers used the app to avoid social media bans in September amid widespread corruption protests, and the same scenario occurred in Madagascar about three weeks later.
Many Jamaicans additionally flocked to the app throughout Hurricane Melissa in November. Winds of 185 miles per hour battered the Caribbean area, reducing off regular communication channels.
