Knit is a messenger that works with no internet, no cell service, and no accounts. It connects directly to the phones around you over Wi-Fi Aware and Bluetooth, passing messages device to device. When you send a message, nearby phones receive it and pass it onward to the phones around them — so your words hop across a crowd, a building, or a campsite, far past your own range. The more people using Knit nearby, the further it travels. WHY KNIT • No internet or mobile data required • No account, phone number, or email to sign up • No central server — nothing to shut down, monitor, or leak • No ads, tracking, analytics, or Google Play Services • Free software — anyone can read what the app does PERFECT FOR • Festivals and crowded venues where signal dies • Travel, flights, ships, camping, and the backcountry • Power outages and emergencies when networks fail PRIVATE BY DESIGN Direct and group chats are end-to-end encrypted. Each message is sealed so only the people in it can read it — every phone that carries it onward, and every relay, sees only ciphertext. Keys are generated on your device, protected by hardware-backed Android security. Confirm who you're talking to with a safety number or a QR scan. ABOUT THE PERMISSIONS Knit asks for nearby-devices (location before Android 13) as Android needs it to find peers over Wi-Fi Aware and Bluetooth LE and reach a paired radio. Location is read only when you tap Send location. INTERNET is declared because Android counts the local Wi-Fi Aware socket as network access, and because relays and link previews use it once switched on. No account, no backend: a fresh install makes no network calls. FREE SOFTWARE Knit is released under the GNU General Public License v3 or later; the full source is at github.com/getknit/knit. FEATURES • Public "Nearby" room to broadcast to everyone in range • Private 1:1 messages (end-to-end encrypted) • Multi-member groups (end-to-end encrypted) • Quoted replies, emoji reactions, and @-mentio