Block Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) CEO Jack Dorsey revealed a new location chat feature for his decentralized messaging application Bitchat on Thursday, claiming to “teleport” anywhere in the world.
What’s New For Bluetooth-Powered Bitchat?
In an X post, Dorsey teased “location chat,” a new feature that allows users to connect with individuals in neighboring regions, including their neighborhood, city and country.
An image showed the potential interface with geohash-based chat channels, indicating proximity, for example, 1.2 km for a neighborhood and 1250 km for a country. The feature claims to protect privacy by sharing “coarse” geohashes rather than exact GPS coordinates.
Dorsey also teased a “teleport” option, which will let users join chats in any geohashed region globally.
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For the curious, a geohash is a method used to encode location coordinates, making it easier to search, store and share. Google Maps works with geohashing principles.
Privacy Concerns
An X user, Hannibal999, claiming to be a former research scientist, raised privacy and surveillance concerns.
“Even if it's ‘coarse’ data, it's still data about where you are and when. Over time, this can be mined for patterns of movement, daily cycles, density spikes, and protests,” they said.
Regarding the “teleport” feature, they argued that it could enable troll farms or disinformation campaigns by flooding channels with “fake” local users.
Can Decentralized Messaging Disrupt Market?
According to the white paper released by Dorsey, Bitchat is a decentralized messaging app that functions using Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networks. Messages are stored only in the device’s memory and not on any central database
Last month, the messaging app made it to Apple App Store’s top 200 free apps, and is currently ranked 132nd in the Social Networking category.
Price Action: Shares of Block closed 0.12% lower at $74.09 during Thursday’s regular trading session, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The stock has lost 12.83% of its value year-to-date.
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Photo Courtesy: Frederic Legrand – COMEO on Shutterstock.com
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
