BitTorrent Bleep offers users a secure messaging service, to which each device is registered separately in order to ensure increased protection. Now users of Android, iOS and Windows can upgrade the security of their messaging, writes Stephanie Mlot for PC Mag.
Private messaging sector changing rapidly
Farid Fadaie of BitTorrent argues that the messaging space is currently insecure, and Bleep offers to change that. “Since our open alpha release last September, a lot has happened in the private messaging space. Services have come and gone, some have been breached and patched, and in many cases, users have been left feeling violated, or at the very least, changed what they say or do online,” he wrote.
“We’ve decided that one of those costs should not be your identity,” Fadaie added. “And by identity, we don’t just mean your personal details, but also what you choose to say and how you say it.”
Once users have downloaded the app, Bleep requires a nickname which omits personal information such as your name, contact details and location. Users can choose to verify an email address of phone number if they like, and doing so makes it possible for contacts to find them.
Bleep stores messages and image encryption keys on users’ devices, not in the cloud. “We’ve solved serverless peer-to-peer messaging,” Fadaie boasted, “including the ability to get offline friends your messages when they come back online.”
BitTorrent Bleep: Whisper messages ensure identity remains private
BitTorrent Bleep includes new features such as whisper messages, which self-destruct 25 seconds after they have been viewed. Switching between normal and whisper messages is seamless.
In order to prevent users from side-stepping the self-destruct function by taking a screenshot, the whisper feature blocks nicknames so that they are not displayed, making it impossible to tell who said what. If users forget who they are whispering with, pressing the “eye” button will display nicknames but block the messages.
“They can capture the conversation or the sender, but not both at the same time,” Fadaie promised.
Bleep also has a free app-to-app voice call feature, which is used by pressing the phone icon near the top of the screen. Calls do not have end-to-end encryption.
