A free app I made for messaging at glasto, no signal required!

[kicks66]

Everyone knows that signal at glastonbury is bad, no matter if its EE, Vodaphone etc sponsoring. So last year at glastonbury I came up with this idea to build an app that worked even when signal was poor.

The idea is to use Bluetooth for communicating directly with each other, rather than relying on your 2/3/4/5G, that is often non-existent. This is based off the now removed FireChat rip).

Now, you’re going to say, Bluetooth range isn’t particularly far? So, anyone with the app can work as a “peer” in the network, meaning they can bounce messages from other users to their destinations. The app uses Low Energy Bluetooth (same as your Apple Watch or Fitbit) so it hardly uses any battery, and you can leave your phone on Airplane all day just with Bluetooth on.

You can download the app free here: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/dartchat/id6447212626?platform=iphone

I’ve tested this at some day festivals in London, and at sports grounds (and on the tube) and it works great.

And the more people that use it, the better its going to work. The app initially will be useful for finding friends in crowds, but with enough users we will have solid coverage of the whole festival site.

The app is free, has no ads, and no personal data tracking. There are no server or running costs - so it can stay free forever.

Why did I make this? I like tech, solving problems, and festivals.

Have any questions, feel free to add them below.

(oh also its just for iPhone atm, if there are any good Android devs out there please DM me!)

[gfa]

This idea is awesome - no idea how it would be privacy wise and i think its too late to get enough uptake for 2023, but next year it could work really well.

Ideally need Glasto/Vodafone to build it into their app - although i think that somewhat goes against Vodafone's goal of getting people to switch etc

[squirrelarmy]

Agree with @gfa fantastic concept but it obviously relies on there being enough users with the app in order for the system to work throughout the site.

[kicks66]

Thanks for the feedback! I would say for sure - to cover the whole of glasto would require significant users. However, even with only a few users, when in a crowd, this works great for finding where people are. And with enough users (and the fact this runs in the background for up to 3 days) - we can build that network quickly with not too many downloads!