Bol Bhai
✨ Version 1.3 · Android app is ready

Talk freely.
Stay close.

BolBhai is a private chat app for real friends. Find people by @username — no phone number, no public user list — and chat only after they say yes. Groups, voice notes, reactions, 24-hour status and a look that’s entirely yours.

Download for Android See everything it does
Android 7.0 or newer 44 MB No phone number needed
0phone numbers needed
50people in a group
24hstatus updates
6accent colours + dark mode
Everything in the app

Built for the way friends actually talk

Every feature below is in the app today. Tap through them, or download it and try.

Real-time chat

Instant 1-to-1 messages with replies, delete for me or for everyone, an emoji picker, day dividers, and an offline queue so text you write without signal still goes out.

Group chats

Groups of up to 50. Admins can rename, add and remove people; anyone can leave. You can only add people you already chat with — nobody gets dragged in by strangers.

Voice notes

Tap the mic, talk, send. Notes play inline with a waveform and one plays at a time, so your chat never turns into a noise party.

Emoji reactions

Long-press any message and react in one tap — 👍 ❤️ 😂 😮 😢 🙏. Reactions are counted under the bubble, in groups too.

Photos, videos & files

Send photos, videos, PDFs and documents, or audio files — several at once. Preview and add a caption before sending, watch upload progress, and download or open anything you receive.

PhotosVideosPDFDocumentsAudio

24-hour status

Post a text or photo status that vanishes after a day. Only your accepted contacts can see it, and you can see exactly who viewed it. Blocked people never do.

Message requests

Nobody can just message you. Someone who finds you sends one short note as a request — you accept, decline or block. Until you accept, they can’t send another word.

Find friends by username

Pick a unique @username. Friends type it into People and find you. There is no public list of users to browse, and you can switch “find me by username” off any time.

People near me

Optional and off by default. Turn it on to meet people around you — using only an approximate area of about 5 km. Others see “very close” or “nearby”, never a map pin or a distance.

Interest tags

Pick up to five interests — music, cricket, travel, gaming, food and more. They show on your profile and light up when you share one with someone.

Live status & receipts

See who’s online, when they were last seen, when they’re typing, and whether a message is sent, delivered or read. Prefer privacy? Hide your last seen or turn read receipts off.

Notifications you control

Alerts show the sender’s photo and the message. Choose the tone (Default, Ding, Pop, Chime or Silent), vibration, whether the text shows, and mute any person or group. Replies get their own “replied to you” alert.

Make it yours

Light, dark or follow-your-phone. Six accent colours, six chat wallpapers, and adjustable message text size — with a live preview as you change things.

Real security options

Lock the app with a PIN or your fingerprint, pick how quickly it re-locks, and block screenshots and recent-apps previews on Android. Block anyone — they can’t message you or see when you’re online or typing.

A tidy inbox

Long-press any chat to mute, archive or delete it. Archived chats live in their own spot and pop back when something new arrives. Swipe left and right to jump between Chats, People and Settings.

A cheeky offline screen

No signal? BolBhai says “Arre yaar, internet kaam nahi kar raha!” with a wobbling mascot and a joke or two — then lets you retry or carry on with what’s already on your phone.

Getting started

From download to first chat in a minute

No phone number, no contacts upload. Just an email or Google account and a username.

Sign up

Use email & password, or continue with Google. That’s the only account detail we ask for.

Choose a username

Pick a unique @name. This is how friends will find you — and you decide whether they can.

Search & say hi

Open People, type a friend’s username and send a request with a short note.

Accept & chat

Once they accept, everything unlocks: messages, voice notes, photos, reactions and status.

Privacy by design

Your friends find you. Strangers don’t.

Privacy isn’t a setting buried in a menu — most of it is enforced on the server, so it holds even if someone tampers with an app.

No public directory

Nobody can list or browse users. People are found only by exact username or the optional nearby feature.

Chat only after you accept

A request carries one short text note. Nothing more can be sent until you say yes — and the notification never shows the note.

Approximate location only

Nearby uses a ~5 km area, never exact coordinates, stored for a few hours and deleted the moment you switch it off.

Blocking that really blocks

Blocked people can’t message you, and the server hides your online status, last seen and typing from them.

No phone number, no contacts

BolBhai never asks for your number and never uploads your address book.

You’re in control

Hide last seen, turn off read receipts, lock the app, block screenshots, and turn off being found — all in Settings.

Straight talk: messages are stored in the cloud (Google Firebase) so they sync across your sessions and reach your friends, and they are protected by strict access rules — but they are not end-to-end encrypted. Don’t use BolBhai for anything you’d only share in a sealed envelope.

Make it yours

Colours, themes and wallpapers — try it right here

The app ships with six accent colours, light and dark themes, six chat wallpapers and adjustable text size. Pick a colour and watch the preview (and this whole page) change.

Bol Green

LightDarkFollow phone6 wallpapers3 text sizes5 notification tones
Sa
Sanatyping…
Yaar new theme dekha? 😍9:15
Haan! Ye accent color mast hai9:16
🔥 1
Wallpaper bhi badal le 😄9:16
😊 Message 📎
Straight from the app

Real screenshots

These two are captured from the actual app running on an Android phone emulator. The illustrations above are rebuilt from the same design.

BolBhai sign-in screen with the logo, email and password fields and a Continue with Google button
Sign-in
The offline screen: 'Arre yaar, internet kaam nahi kar raha!' with a confused mascot
When the internet goes missing
Download

Get BolBhai on your Android phone

Download the app file and install it in under a minute. Available now for Android; an iPhone version isn’t ready yet.

  • Works on Android 7.0 and newer
  • Sign in with email or Google — no phone number
  • Updates: download the newest file and install it over the old one — you stay signed in

BolBhai for Android

Version 1.3.0 · 44 MB · APK
Download APK
SHA-256 checksum f3bcca3ddb0fae891cfd56a0c0ea15b840d7598d6066e5b7394d2ad4e3c6eb50
1 · DownloadTap “Download APK”. If your browser warns about this file type, choose Keep / Download anyway.
2 · Open the fileOpen it from your notification bar or the Downloads folder.
3 · Allow installAndroid may ask to allow installs from your browser — turn on “Allow from this source”, then tap Install.
4 · Say helloOpen BolBhai, sign up, choose a username, and find your friends.

Installing from a file (instead of an app store) is why Android shows an “unknown source” prompt. You can check the file is genuine by comparing its SHA-256 above.

Questions

Good to know

Do I need a phone number?

No. You sign up with an email and password, or with Google. BolBhai never asks for your phone number and never reads your contacts.

How do I find my friends?

Ask them for their @username, open the People tab and type it in. You’ll send a request with a short note; when they accept, you can chat. If they’ve switched off “find me by username”, they won’t appear.

Can strangers message me?

No. Anyone who finds you must send a request, and they can’t send more than that one short note until you accept. You can decline or block them, and blocked people can’t reach you at all.

What does “People near me” do with my location?

It’s off unless you turn it on. When on, the app uses your approximate area (about 5 km), not your exact position. Others only see “very close” or “nearby”. Your stored area is removed after a few hours or the moment you turn it off.

Are my messages end-to-end encrypted?

No. Messages are stored securely in the cloud with strict access rules so only the people in a chat can read them, but they are not end-to-end encrypted. Please keep that in mind for very sensitive information.

Why does Android warn me when I install it?

Because the app comes as a file from this website rather than from an app store, Android asks you to confirm. You can verify the download using the SHA-256 shown in the Download section.

Is there an iPhone version?

Not yet — for now BolBhai is available for Android.

What if I have no internet?

You’ll see a friendly “Arre yaar, internet kaam nahi kar raha!” screen. You can retry, or keep using what’s already on your phone — text messages you write are queued and sent when you’re back online (photos and videos need a connection).