Comment by miohtama

It is not the first time.

In 2014, the Hong Kong protesters used an app called FireChat.

I had the pleasure of meeting the founder, Micha, a few times. The company was called OpenGarden.

The app was popular - distributed in the App Store. Same idea: Bluetooth and wi-fi networks.

User numbers growing like a hockey stick. 100k+ downloads a day.

Micha was in Hong Kong during the 2014 protests (originally for a layover en route to meetings in China) and gave many interviews to international/Western media outlets while there, including the New York Times, TIME, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, BBC, and Reuters. Mica expressed support for free speech.

Authorities limited or blocked downloads and information about the app.

The term sheet for the funding round disappeared.

Too early?