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Hebrew, Polish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and Ukrainian were only 10-12% translated (38-48 of 395 string keys), falling back to English for nearly everything. Backfill each to 100% (395/395 keys), including the two shared plurals (notification_and_more, people_count) with locale-correct CLDR plural categories. Also: - Fix values-zh-rTW: ~27 keys in the verify_*/fingerprint_* block were Simplified Chinese pasted into the Traditional Chinese file (e.g. 验证 instead of 驗證); corrected to proper Traditional Chinese script. - Fix a leftover English verify_*/fingerprint_* block (~30 keys) present in pl, ms, ta, uk that predated this change and wasn't part of the originally-missing-key set. - Fix values-pl version_prefix, mistranslated as "w%1$s" instead of preserving the literal version-string prefix "v%1$s". - Fix a duplicate-key bug in values-ms where a stale untranslated <string name="notification_and_more"> coexisted with the new <plurals name="notification_and_more">. All translations are machine-translated (flagged as such via an in-file comment: "pending native-speaker review") and should be reviewed by fluent speakers before being considered final. Verified: well-formed XML, exactly 395/395 keys with no duplicates in all 7 files, zero placeholder (%1$s/%2$d/etc.) mismatches against the English source, and a clean `./gradlew :app:processDebugResources` resource compile. Relates to #737 (multilingual support request) — this addresses the "languages already added but barely translated" half of that issue; an in-app language switcher / android:localeConfig and a proper community-translation pipeline (e.g. Weblate) are separate follow-ups. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
bitchat for Android
A decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app with dual transport architecture: local Bluetooth mesh networks for offline communication and internet-based Nostr protocol for global reach. No accounts, no phone numbers, no central servers.
This is the Android implementation of bitchat, fully protocol-compatible with the iOS version for cross-platform mesh communication.
License
This project is released into the public domain. See the LICENSE file for details.
Features
- Dual Transport Architecture: Bluetooth LE mesh for offline messaging, Nostr relays for internet-based messaging
- Location-Based Channels: Geographic chat rooms using geohash coordinates over Nostr relays
- Intelligent Message Routing: Automatically chooses the best transport, with queuing and retry when a peer is unreachable
- End-to-End Encryption: Noise Protocol (XX pattern, X25519 + ChaCha20-Poly1305) for private messages over the mesh
- Decentralized Mesh Network: Automatic peer discovery and multi-hop relay over Bluetooth LE (max 7 hops)
- Wi-Fi Aware Transport: Higher-bandwidth local mesh on supported devices
- Channel Chats: Topic-based group messaging with optional password protection (Argon2id + AES-256-GCM)
- IRC-Style Commands: Familiar
/join,/msg,/whostyle interface - Tor Support: Built-in Tor (Arti) for private internet connectivity
- Emergency Wipe: Triple-tap to instantly clear all data
- Cross-Platform: Binary protocol compatible with bitchat on iOS and macOS
Technical Architecture
Bluetooth Mesh Network (Offline)
- Direct peer-to-peer within Bluetooth range, multi-hop relay through nearby devices
- Noise Protocol sessions with forward secrecy; peer identities derived from static keys
- Compact binary packet format with fragmentation, TTL routing, and deduplication
- Adaptive duty cycling and connection limits for battery efficiency
- Foreground service keeps the mesh alive within Android background execution limits
Nostr Protocol (Internet)
- Global reach via public relays, geohash-based location channels
- Private messages fall back to Nostr for mutual favorites when the mesh is unavailable
- Ephemeral keys per geohash area
Android Stack
- Kotlin, Jetpack Compose (Material 3), MVVM
- Coroutines and Flow for all networking and state
- Core components:
MeshForegroundService(persistent connectivity),BluetoothMeshService/WifiAwareMeshService(transports),UnifiedMeshService(transport selection),NoiseSessionManager(encryption sessions),MessageRouter(mesh/Nostr routing with outbox retry)
Building
Requires Android Studio and the Android SDK (API 26+).
git clone https://github.com/permissionlesstech/bitchat-android.git
cd bitchat-android
./gradlew assembleDebug
Install on a connected device:
adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
The app requests Bluetooth, location (required for BLE scanning), and notification permissions at runtime.
Testing
# Unit tests
./gradlew test
# Lint
./gradlew lint
# Instrumented tests (requires a device or emulator)
./gradlew connectedAndroidTest
Note that BLE mesh behavior is difficult to emulate; protocol and session logic is covered by unit tests, while radio-level behavior needs real devices.