Hidden within the settings of Apple’s iOS 7 is a feature called the Multipeer Connectivity Framework (MCF), which allows you to send messages and photos even when a person has no signal.
Accordingly, a group of developers, from the crowdsourced firm Open Garden, created a free iPhone application called FireChat in order to take advantage of this feature.
When a user opens FireChat app, they choose a screen name to start sending messages, via 'chatrooms' with 'Everyone' and 'Nearby' options.
The ‘Everyone’ option will search for all people using the app, while the ‘Nearby’ option finds the users located within Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range (up to around 30 feet).
The FireChat app is useful on a plane, or underground.
Apple introduced MCF feature to IOS 7 last year in order to create what is called a wireless network that connects phones to each other.
Among the advantages of the app, is the inability to be infiltrated by hackers because the feature does not require an internet connection.