v1.8.0

[jackjackbits]

bitchat 1.8.0 makes busy location channels fast. It also collects the features and security hardening that landed since 1.7.1.

Performance

• Busy geochats are fast again. In a room of 100 people, the people list opens in about 60 ms (it took 1.5 s) and stays at 60 fps. At 300 people it opens in about 180 ms (it took 4–12 s) (Make the geochat people list linear in the participant count #1788).
• Presence traffic no longer rebuilds the roster on every event. The timeline at 300 people goes from 3.5–7 dropped frames per second to none (Stop rebuilding the geochat roster on every inbound event #1789).
• The timeline no longer fights you.
  • It no longer snaps back while you scroll during a burst.
  • It no longer cascades to the oldest message when you reach the top.
  • It keeps following at the 1,337-message cap.
  • Channel and DM switches land at the newest message (Fix geochat timeline scrolling and cut per-row render work #1790).
• Geochat scaling is now gated by CI's performance floors (Gate geochat scaling regressions in the performance floor check #1791).

Fixes

• Your own messages are recognized by sender ID, not nickname. Someone who shares your name no longer pulls you to the bottom, hides their message actions, or gets your threads folded into theirs (Tell my own messages apart by sender ID, not nickname #1793).
• No more dark-gray band at the bottom of sheets in dark mode with the Matrix theme (Fix dark-gray band at the bottom of Matrix sheets in dark mode #1794).
• Builds with Xcode 27. swift-secp256k1 0.24.0 brings byte-identical crypto output, verified across versions (build(deps): bump swift-secp256k1 from 0.21.1 to 0.24.0 #1782). String catalog keys and Swift 6.4 warnings are fixed (Fix swift build on Xcode 27 and clear its Swift 6.4 warnings #1795).

New since 1.7.1

• Drafts survive switching between mesh, location channels and private chats (Keep composer drafts across mesh, geohash, and DM switches #1569).
• Location channels:
  • one-tap quick join for nearby channels (Location channels: locale-derived one-tap quick join #1444);
  • share channel invites from the share sheet (feat: share location channel invites via the system share sheet #1513).
• Identity and verification:
  • a local alias on the fingerprint sheet (feat: local alias field on the fingerprint sheet #1507);
  • a verification seal in private chats (feat: verification seal on private message sender rows #1573).
• Chat list and safety:
  • a recent chats section (Add a recent-chats section so DM conversations can't become unreachable #1598);
  • a persistent connectivity banner (Add a persistent connectivity banner and stop the radar lying #1597);
  • a panic wipe that confirms first (Make the panic wipe confirmable and its outcome visible #1588).
• Mac: camera QR scanning for verification (Add macOS camera QR scanning for peer verification #1477).
• Keyboard: navigation for @-mention suggestions (Keyboard navigation for @-mention suggestions #1542).
• Localization: the remaining UI strings are localized in all 30 languages (Localization: add 26 code-referenced keys and a test that closes the coverage blind spot #1654, Localize the last hardcoded UI strings; wire up two dead translations #1656, Localize CommandProcessor: all 48 command strings, 30 locales #1657).

Security

• Noise and identity: sessions rekey on absolute age (Trigger Noise session rekey on absolute age, not just idle time #1675), and unverifiable handshake peer IDs fail closed (Fail closed on unverifiable handshake peer IDs; check SecRandomCopyBytes results #1645).
• Timestamps: sanity windows for QR codes, Nostr DM rumors and sync replies (Timestamp sanity windows: future-dated QR codes and implausible Nostr DM rumors #1647, Bound future timestamps on sync replies and in the gossip store #1717).
• Size bounds: per-type packet payload caps and byte-bounded sync stores (Cap packet payload size per type and bound sync stores by bytes #1719).
• Groups and DMs:
  • private-group creator pinning (Pin the stored creator on incoming private-group state #1720);
  • the mesh peer ID is kept out of geohash DMs (Keep the mesh peer ID out of geohash DMs; ack only after block checks #1718).
• Input handling: ambiguous nicknames are refused instead of guessed (fix: refuse an ambiguous nickname instead of picking the first peer #1689), and Data(hexString:) rejects signed byte pairs (fix: reject a signed byte pair in Data(hexString:) #1687).
• Privacy: the public-channel screenshot broadcast is removed (Remove the public-channel screenshot broadcast #1596), and privacy claims are corrected (Stop claiming encryption and privacy properties that aren't live #1595).

Every tagged release ships a SOURCE-MANIFEST.txt; see docs/VERIFYING-A-BUILD.md.

What's Changed

• Peer ID rotation: working primitives + spec for iOS/Android review by @jackjackbits in Peer ID rotation: working primitives + spec for iOS/Android review #1487
• Add macOS camera QR scanning for peer verification by @Ayush7614 in Add macOS camera QR scanning for peer verification #1477
• Localize hardcoded macOS image picker copy by @Ayush7614 in Localize hardcoded macOS image picker copy #1478
• Location channels: locale-derived one-tap quick join by @RodsF1 in Location channels: locale-derived one-tap quick join #1444
• feat: local alias field on the fingerprint sheet by @chessing234 in feat: local alias field on the fingerprint sheet #1507
• feat: share location channel invites via the system share sheet by @chessing234 in feat: share location channel invites via the system share sheet #1513
• feat: verification seal on private message sender rows by @chessing234 in feat: verification seal on private message sender rows #1573
• Keyboard navigation for @-mention suggestions by @chessing234 in Keyboard navigation for @-mention suggestions #1542
• Fail closed on unverifiable handshake peer IDs; check SecRandomCopyBytes results by @jackjackbits in Fail closed on unverifiable handshake peer IDs; check SecRandomCopyBytes results #1645
• Make SwiftLint blocking in CI now that the violation backlog is zero by @jackjackbits in Make SwiftLint blocking in CI now that the violation backlog is zero #1646
• Timestamp sanity windows: future-dated QR codes and implausible Nostr DM rumors by @jackjackbits in Timestamp sanity windows: future-dated QR codes and implausible Nostr DM rumors #1647
• Make the Periphery scan blocking by @jackjackbits in Make the Periphery scan blocking #1648
• Deflake gift-wrap tests: settle deadlines, not latency budgets by @jackjackbits in Deflake gift-wrap tests: settle deadlines, not latency budgets #1651
• Stop claiming encryption and privacy properties that aren't live by @jackjackbits in Stop claiming encryption and privacy properties that aren't live #1595
• Remove the public-channel screenshot broadcast by @jackjackbits in Remove the public-channel screenshot broadcast #1596
• Add a recent-chats section so DM conversations can't become unreachable by @jackjackbits in Add a recent-chats section so DM conversations can't become unreachable #1598
• Make the panic wipe confirmable and its outcome visible by @jackjackbits in Make the panic wipe confirmable and its outcome visible #1588
• Add a persistent connectivity banner and stop the radar lying by @jackjackbits in Add a persistent connectivity banner and stop the radar lying #1597
• Deflake AppArchitectureTests: raise the local waitUntil to settleTimeout by @jackjackbits in Deflake AppArchitectureTests: raise the local waitUntil to settleTimeout #1653
• Localization: add 26 code-referenced keys and a test that closes the coverage blind spot by @jackjackbits in Localization: add 26 code-referenced keys and a test that closes the coverage blind spot #1654
• Localize CommandProcessor: all 48 command strings, 30 locales by @jackjackbits in Localize CommandProcessor: all 48 command strings, 30 locales #1657
• Localize the last hardcoded UI strings; wire up two dead translations by @jackjackbits in Localize the last hardcoded UI strings; wire up two dead translations #1656
• Keep the mesh peer ID out of geohash DMs; ack only after block checks by @jackjackbits in Keep the mesh peer ID out of geohash DMs; ack only after block checks #1718
• Pin the stored creator on incoming private-group state by @jackjackbits in Pin the stored creator on incoming private-group state #1720
• Bound future timestamps on sync replies and in the gossip store by @jackjackbits in Bound future timestamps on sync replies and in the gossip store #1717
• Cap packet payload size per type and bound sync stores by bytes by @jackjackbits in Cap packet payload size per type and bound sync stores by bytes #1719
• fix: refuse an ambiguous nickname instead of picking the first peer by @chessing234 in fix: refuse an ambiguous nickname instead of picking the first peer #1689
• Trigger Noise session rekey on absolute age, not just idle time by @krishrathi1 in Trigger Noise session rekey on absolute age, not just idle time #1675
• fix: reject a signed byte pair in Data(hexString:) by @chessing234 in fix: reject a signed byte pair in Data(hexString:) #1687
• fix: evict fully-aged-out geohashes from activity tracker by @chessing234 in fix: evict fully-aged-out geohashes from activity tracker #1642
• Compile mention autocomplete regex through SafeRegex by @Ayush7614 in Compile mention autocomplete regex through SafeRegex #1604
• test(l10n): per-catalog attribution and file:line output for the coverage guard by @chessing234 in test(l10n): per-catalog attribution and file:line output for the coverage guard #1679
• Add golden test vectors for the courier wire format by @ecgang in Add golden test vectors for the courier wire format #1472
• Validate relay-directory changes in PR CI by @jozanek in Validate relay-directory changes in PR CI #1711
• ci: prevent manual source manifests from overwriting releases by @vekovius in ci: prevent manual source manifests from overwriting releases #1636
• docs: why rotating the service UUID does not work by @RodsF1 in docs: why rotating the service UUID does not work #1704
• Keep composer drafts across mesh, geohash, and DM switches by @chessing234 in Keep composer drafts across mesh, geohash, and DM switches #1569
• build(deps): bump swift-secp256k1 from 0.21.1 to 0.24.0 by @csjones in build(deps): bump swift-secp256k1 from 0.21.1 to 0.24.0 #1782
• Make the geochat people list linear in the participant count by @jackjackbits in Make the geochat people list linear in the participant count #1788
• Stop rebuilding the geochat roster on every inbound event by @jackjackbits in Stop rebuilding the geochat roster on every inbound event #1789
• Fix geochat timeline scrolling and cut per-row render work by @jackjackbits in Fix geochat timeline scrolling and cut per-row render work #1790
• Gate geochat scaling regressions in the performance floor check by @jackjackbits in Gate geochat scaling regressions in the performance floor check #1791
• Tell my own messages apart by sender ID, not nickname by @jackjackbits in Tell my own messages apart by sender ID, not nickname #1793
• Fix dark-gray band at the bottom of Matrix sheets in dark mode by @jackjackbits in Fix dark-gray band at the bottom of Matrix sheets in dark mode #1794
• Fix swift build on Xcode 27 and clear its Swift 6.4 warnings by @jackjackbits in Fix swift build on Xcode 27 and clear its Swift 6.4 warnings #1795
• Bump version to 1.8.0 by @jackjackbits in Bump version to 1.8.0 #1796

New Contributors

• @Ayush7614 made their first contribution in Add macOS camera QR scanning for peer verification #1477
• @vekovius made their first contribution in ci: prevent manual source manifests from overwriting releases #1636

Full Changelog: v1.7.1...v1.8.0

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This discussion was created from the release v1.8.0.