The FireChat messaging app is fast becoming <br />one of the most popular tools for defying communication blocks during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.<br /><br />100,000 new users signed up within 24 hours.<br /><br />As it works via Bluetooth it does not need internet access. It has given its developers a good headache over how to make money from it.<br /><br />“We want to keep FireChat free for users. We create additional user time. That means that when your phone is not connected to a network or it’s not connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot, now it has the opportunity to be connected to a device or someone nearby. And during that time, any monetization event that happens, so for example an ad that is displayed or a purchase through an app, an app purchase that happens, we take a cut out of that.” <br /><br />And it could be a sizeable slice as FireChat is this week’s most downloaded app in Hong Kong’s iOS App Store.
