@@ -62,11 +62,7 @@ Bear in mind that you can't delete blog posts after they've been sent.
You can use the forum feature to create group discussions and invite your contacts to join. Anyone who belongs to a forum can invite their own contacts to join.
## Connect via Bluetooth
When you meet up in person with a contact that you added at a distance, you can use the "Connect via Bluetooth" feature in the conversation screen to make a Bluetooth connection between your devices. After doing this once your devices should connect automatically in future, but this may take a minute or two after your contact comes within range. If you don't want to wait you can use the "Connect via Bluetooth" feature again to make a connection immediately.
## Tips for offline communication
## Communicate offline
The range of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is around 10 metres, depending on obstacles. Clearly this isn't enough for communicating across a city or even a large building. So when Briar receives a message from a nearby contact, it stores the message and can later pass it on to other contacts when they come within range (for example, when you move from one place to another).
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@@ -74,12 +70,18 @@ Please note that Briar will only synchronize messages with your contacts, not wi
But this doesn't work for private messages: they're only synchronized directly between the sender and recipient.
A forum is a good way for a group of people to keep in touch without Internet access. To make sure that forum posts are synced between all members of the forum, introduce all the members so they become contacts, and make sure that everyone invites everyone else to the forum and accepts the invitations, even if they already belong to the forum. This will ensure that whenever two members are within Bluetooth or Wi-Fi range they can synchronize the forum messages they've received.
### Connect to your contacts offline
When you meet up with one of your Briar contacts you can use the "Connect via Bluetooth" feature in the conversation screen to make a Bluetooth connection between your devices. After doing this once your devices should connect automatically in future, but this may take a minute or two after your contact comes within range. If you don't want to wait you can use the "Connect via Bluetooth" feature again to make a connection immediately.
If a group of people within Wi-Fi range want to communicate, it can be useful to create a Wi-Fi hotspot on one person's phone. Even if the hotspot doesn't have Internet access, Briar can use it to communicate with contacts who are connected to the same hotspot.
If it's too risky to carry your phone from place to place (eg checkpoints), you can sync encrypted messages using a USB stick or SD card to carry them more discreetly.
### Use a forum for offline communication
A forum is a good way for a group of people to keep in touch without Internet access. To make sure that forum posts are synced between all members of the forum, introduce all the members so they become contacts, and make sure that everyone invites everyone else to the forum and accepts the invitations, even if they already belong to the forum. This will ensure that whenever two members are within Bluetooth or Wi-Fi range they can synchronize the forum messages they've received.
## Share the app
If someone in your group needs to install Briar and doesn't have Internet access, you can share the app with them by choosing "Share this app offline" from Briar's main menu. This creates a Wi-Fi hotspot without Internet access where they can download the app from your device.
