BitTorrent, known worldwide for its peer-to-peer file-sharing platform, has released the Bleep messaging app.
Developers continue to create and update mobile messaging apps to make them more secure, but BitTorrent's Bleep could already be one of the most secure messaging apps available to the public right after its release.
BitTorrent announced an alpha release for Bleep in September of last year, then stating that the company believed a messaging app based on the peer-to-peer structure that the company uses for its torrent client would be more secure compared to messaging apps that mostly use a cloud-based structure.
The company continued to work on the messaging app from the feedback provided by the app's testers. Now, Bleep has been released to the public, with versions available for both iOS and Android devices, along with desktop versions for Windows and Mac.
Upon downloading Bleep, users will only have to choose a nickname to get started with using the massaging app. Each user will have a unique Bleep key that they can share anywhere, without fear of having all their other details exposed. Users also have the option to verify their email address and mobile number with the app, which will allow the user's friends to discover them through Bleep.
BitTorrent explains that the logo of Bleep, a folded note, explains how messages between users are passed directly to each other, with messages and encryption keys being stored on the user's device and not on the cloud. By doing so, hackers will not be able to access the cloud where the app stores all the data because there is no cloud in the first place.
Bleep's newest version also comes with a Whisper feature that will have messages and pictures sent by users to disappear after 25 seconds upon being viewed, with users able to access the feature seamlessly to incorporate whispers into the normal flow of conversations. Whispers are also screenshot-protected, as users looking to take screenshots will only be able to capture either the name or the message, but not both at the same time.
Bleep also allows for free voice calls between users, which are also connected directly without passing through a cloud-based server and with end-to-end encryption.
Apple also uses end-to-end encryption in its iMessage app, which makes it much more secure compared to Google's Hangouts, but both of these messaging apps store the messages in a cloud, which means that both the company and hackers could possibly access the data.
Bleep's cloud-less system should prove to be a more attractive choice for users looking for more privacy from their messaging apps. Whether the app is able to generate significant interest, however, remains to be seen.
