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FireChat (for Android)

FireChat (for Android)

The FireChat messaging app for Android uses mesh networking to let you chat with people around you, even when there's no data connection available. But if you want to have a private conversation, you're out of luck.

3.0 Good
The FireChat messaging app for Android uses mesh networking to let you chat with people around you, even when there's no data connection available. But if you want to have a private conversation, you're out of luck. - FireChat (for Android)
3.0 Good

Bottom Line

The FireChat messaging app for Android uses mesh networking to let you chat with people around you, even when there's no data connection available. But if you want to have a private conversation, you're out of luck.
  • Pros

    • Simple setup.
    • Easy group messaging.
    • Offline mesh networking.
    • iOS and Android support.
  • Cons

    • Unreliable offline use.
    • Tricky to use.
    • Problems sending images in testing.
    • No direct messaging.
    • No access controls for groups.
    • Little support.

I cannot count the number of times I've wanted to be able to send a message to my friend's smartphone while we're away from data connections—like on an airplane or a subway. FireChat for Android (free) finally gives me hints of what that would be like, letting Android and iPhone users form super-local messaging networks without data connections. The app has made headlines as a key tool for protestors in Hong Kong. But FireChat is more like trying to talk in a crowded room than speaking directly to a friend.

Fireside Chatting
In FireChat, you can create your own chat room, confusingly called a firechat, which anyone can join by entering the same conversation name. Creation of and searching for Firechats is sort of rolled together, making it somewhat confusing. You might be entering a populated chatroom without knowing you're doing so. It's similar to the way Cryptocat works, but, unlike Cryptocat, FireChat offers no way to have a private conversation.

FireChat periodically prods you to join popular firechats, and a live feed shows popular chats in progress. Tapping one not only opens the chat room, but also enrolls you to receive updates about that chat's activity.

This is way too pushy for my taste; I'd much rather be asked to opt in than forced to opt out. Especially because most firechats are big bags of horrible. Imagine YouTube comments, and now imagine them in real time. In my tests, many firechats were about broad categories like politics or religion, but others had names like "Sexual Freedom" and "Ebola in the USA." I chose the Linux firechat, which, mercifully, had zero posts.

FireChat (for Android)One odd thing is that FireChat doesn't localize which firechats appear in the app. I'd like to be able to choose whether to see worldwide or nearby chats. There's also no way to respond directly to another user in these chats. You can tap on a single message to see other messages sent by that user, but there are no response threads like there are on Twitter.

One of the most interesting features of FireChat is the nearby mode, which functions as an ad hoc chatroom to which any FireChat user in the vicinity can contribute. Think of it as ambient messaging; a means to take the social pulse of the people around you. It's a neat idea, but it really highlights the lack of direct messaging. Nearby chatting works both when you're offline or connected to cellular or Wi-Fi data, but more on that later.

No matter how you're chatting on FireChat, you have the option to attach a photo either from your cache of existing pictures or fresh from your phone's camera. Unfortunately, it appears postage-stamp size and can't be increased. In my testing, I had no trouble sending a previously captured image, but I could not snap a new photo to share. Doing so failed on every Android phone I tested. I had no such problems on an iPhone, but the iPhone version failed to shoot and upload a video—an option not even available on Android.

Offline, Still Chatting
The most touted feature of FireChat is the app's ability to carry on conversations when users are up to 200 feet apart—even while offline. It's a neat trick that FireChat pulls off using both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios. FireChat can also route messages through other user's phones in order to reach as many people as possible. A recent update allows conversations between Android devices and iPhones while offline.

But in my testing, FireChat's mesh networking proved unreliable. With four phones (two Samsung Galaxy S5s, a Nexus 5, and an iPhone 5c) spread over 241 feet apart, I was unable to receive messages from the furthest device while offline in nearby mode. I experienced this same unreliability in offline nearby mode when all the phones were within a few inches of each other. I was also frustrated by FireChat's lack of documentation on how to configure phones for offline chatting; for the record, both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth need to be turned on.

I had much better luck when the phones were offline but all in the same firechat. But even in this test, I was only able to reliably receive communications up to 153 feet from the sender, and only when we had line of sight. It's probably not a problem at a concert or on a crowded subway train, but it's not ideal for communicating within a home or office building.

FireChat (for Android)Mesh networking's biggest limitation is that it's only as strong as the weakest node. If one fails and there are too few phones in the area to pick up the slack, then the network falls apart. Also, while in offline mode, phones are subject to interference from other Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices.

Security
Part of FireChat's popularity is that it can function not only without a centralized server, like Bleep, but without an Internet connection at all. Protestors in Hong Kong have reportedly been using the app to coordinate their efforts in the face of government-imposed data blackouts.

I have reached out to FireChat's developers for an explanation of how their messages are secured. I'll update this review with their response. Given the app's popularity among political dissidents, anything less than off-the-record encryption, where each message is uniquely encrypted, would be a disappointment.

But FireChat is a decidedly open, social app, and not really suited for sharing secrets. Anyone can stand near you to eavesdrop on your nearby chats, or lurk in a seemingly empty chat room to see all your messages. If you have secrets to share, look for a more secure option.

Stoke the Fire
The technology in FireChat is really exciting. Our phones are our primary means of communication and expression, and that's completely cut off when we're away from data networks—even when the people we want to talk with are nearby. Being able to chat without any kind of data connection is fantastic.

But I found that FireChat's ambient messaging undercut the very benefits its offline mode provided. The practical upshot is that using FireChat can be like trying to talk in a crowded room. Maybe a few people will hear you, maybe someone across the room will hear you, maybe no one will.

Going forward, I'd like to see FireChat focus on two areas: improving reliability and adding direct messaging. Until then, I'll stick with more traditional messaging options like SMS and secure messaging apps such as TextSecure and Editors' Choice Wickr.

About Max Eddy