5 of 5 — Questions
Questions leaders actually ask.
Does it need internet, a SIM or roaming?
No. Once the app is installed, nothing it does touches the internet. There is no server to reach, no account to log into and no data to buy. Phones in flight mode still work, as long as Bluetooth is switched back on — which flight mode allows.
The install itself is the exception: getting the app onto a phone means downloading it from a store, so do that before you travel.
How far does it actually reach?
Between any two phones, tens of metres in the open and less indoors or in a crowd. That's the actual reach today — a message goes to whoever is directly in range of you, not further along through people standing in between yet. Carrying a message that way, so the group's reach adds up rather than staying phone-to-phone, is planned and not built.
What happens when a message doesn't get through?
It's marked undelivered on your phone rather than lost, and you send it again once someone's in range — it doesn't go on its own yet. When it does go, the app distinguishes between "sent from your phone, not confirmed" and "arrived on theirs". It will not show you a confirmation it did not receive.
Does it ask for location permission?
No — and it cannot be persuaded to. The app requests Bluetooth permissions only, flagged so the phone knows they are never used to derive location. There is no location permission in it to grant, which is also why it cannot tell you where anyone is.
Who can read our messages?
Today: anyone else running Buzzbelt within Bluetooth range. There's no encryption yet and no separate "your group" — it's one open conversation for everyone nearby with the app, not a private channel. See the honest limits before you rely on it for anything sensitive.
Does it drain the battery?
Yes, noticeably. The radio has to keep working with the app in a pocket — that is what makes a buzz reach a phone nobody is looking at. On a long day, plan for power banks the way you would plan for water.
Anyone can stop the search from inside the app to save battery. If they do, the app is loud about what it costs: nothing reaches them, and a buzz will not ring.
Do the young people need accounts?
No. No account, no email address, no phone number, no age gate to lie on. They open the app and type the name they want the group to see. That name is the only thing anybody has to give.
Where does our data go?
Nowhere. There are no servers behind this app, so there is no copy of anything to hold, hand over or lose. Conversations live on the phones that were in the conversation, and deleting the app takes its share with it. There is no analytics and no crash reporting.
Which phones does it work on?
Android 12 and later, and iPhone. Both need Bluetooth Low Energy, which every phone of that age has. Android and iPhone talk to each other normally — a mixed group is the usual case, not a special one.
Can a member pretend to be the leader?
Yes, today. There is no signing yet, so a message claiming to be "from the leader" looks exactly like any other message — nothing checks it. Checkable, signed announcements that a typed message can't fake are planned, not built. Until then, agree on a separate way to confirm anything that actually matters — a recognisable phrase, a phone call, a face — rather than trusting a name in the chat alone.