PANews reported on January 14th that, according to Cointelegraph, Ugandan government officials confirmed that internet access has been cut off and will remain unavailable during the presidential election that begins on Thursday. Against this backdrop, Bitchat has become the most downloaded app in Uganda. This marks the third consecutive time Ugandan authorities have cut off the internet during elections, a move officials stated was a necessary measure to curb the spread of online misinformation.

Bitchat, an encrypted messaging application that requires no internet connection and uses a Bluetooth mesh network, is currently ranked number one on the app charts in Uganda's Apple App Store and Google Play Store. As of January 5th, over 400,000 Ugandans had downloaded the app, and that number is likely much higher now.