BitTorrent launches 'serverless' peer-to-peer messaging app Bleep on iOS

BitTorrent, the company behind the popular peer-to-peer file sharing protocol of the same name, has just launched a new iOS app that’s poised to compete with the likes of Snapchat and Confide.

Called BitTorrent Bleep, the app is touted as the company’s solution to “serverless” peer-to-peer messaging.

First off, Bleep lets you go incognito by signing up for the service using only a username, although you can opt to link your email address and phone number so that your friends can easily find you on the service.

With Bleep, you can rest assured that serverless or end-to-end encryption is implemented when you’re talking with your friends through voice calls as well as chat messages.

BitTorrent Bleep

Bleep also features an ephemeral messaging mode called Whisper (not to be confused with the anonymous social networking app of the same name). In Whisper mode, there’s practically no chat history as each message sent is set to automatically disappear after having been viewed for 25 seconds.

Also in Whisper mode, usernames are initially blocked until they’re tapped, whereupon the conversation gets blurred. This discourages users from taking screenshots of Whisper messages, since only the conversation or the sender is visible at a time.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 8.0 or later, BitTorrent Bleep is available now on the App Store for free.

Bleep is BitTorrent’s second official release on iOS, following BitTorrent Sync. Launched on the App Store in August 2013, Sync lets you share files directly between devices without using servers in the cloud.