Comment on Briar - secure p2p group communications
IanTwenty@lemmy.world 3 weeks agoMessages are only sent when both online though, thet’s the bigger difference (unless using Briar Mailbox). Also it can send over wifi and bluetooth without internet connection i.e. no other devices involved.
victorz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That’s an entirely different thing, yes. 😄
I’ve always wondered what the utility is in sending messages over Bluetooth. Exchanging data secretly and securely in person, I guess?
artyom@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Anytime you have bad/no cellular reception. Think being at a large event where the cell network is saturated, or in a rural area with no cell service.
victorz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Right, but you have to be so close to each other for Bluetooth to work, so it seems very limited in utility. But of course, data exchange in person would be one thing.
artyom@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Bluetooth has a pretty significant range, especially outdoors. So you might be watching something on the stage while a friend or family member is 300 feet away at a concession stand.
FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 3 weeks ago
No one else then the parties messaging can see that the communication even occurs.
victorz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Right, but you have to be so close to each other for Bluetooth to work.
TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
It transfers across other peers; you don’t have to have a direct connection to the recipient, just an eventual connection to them.
bandwidthcrisis@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’ve used it to message someone while on a flight.
victorz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That’s brilliant use, I like it.
So how does it work? Do you just need to “have Bluetooth turned on” and it reaches the recipient, or do you need to connect to each other somehow? Can this work for a group chat with a family, or colleagues on a conference trip perhaps?
bandwidthcrisis@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You need to enable Bluetooth as a method of connection in the app settings (and can turn off wifi and data there).
The phones can be in airplane mode but with Bluetooth turned back on (as you would to use earbuds).
I don’t recall pairing the phones, but there is a “connect via Bluetooth” option on each chat that might be doing that automatically.
You link accounts to each other by scanning qr codes.
It does have a group chat but I haven’t used it, so I don’t know if that works with Bluetooth alone.
I just tried testing this with an old phone of mine, but can’t get it to work right now (maybe because it has Graphene os?), but I have actually used it on flights in the past.