Crisis Connect brings together offline messaging, SOS features, emergency utilities, and survival instructions within a single smartphone application.
Official emblem of Crisis Connect, an open-source emergency communication platform created for scenarios where conventional networks are not accessible.
Developed by a 17-year-old student, this open-source application for iOS and Android lets nearby devices exchange messages without internet or cellular coverage.
Disasters should not make a working phone useless just because the network is gone. Crisis Connect is designed to add a communication layer that can keep people and field teams connected.”— Emirhan Duman, Founder and Lead Developer of Crisis Connect
ISTANBUL, TURKEY, August 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Crisis Connect, an open-source emergency communication platform tailored for scenarios where internet and cellular networks become inaccessible or overloaded, is broadening its strategy for disaster communication among mobile users, field teams, and emergency management organizations.
Accessible on Android and iOS, Crisis Connect merges internet-based communication with an offline-first layer that enables compatible nearby devices to interact directly when standard connectivity is lacking. The Android edition has achieved over 10,000 downloads on Google Play.
During earthquakes, floods, wildfires, large-scale blackouts, and other crises, communication infrastructure may be damaged or overwhelmed by a sudden surge in demand. Crisis Connect is built on the principle that emergency communication should not rely on a single network staying operational.
When connectivity is present, the platform offers internet-based communication while striving to use network and device resources sparingly. This is especially relevant in emergencies where infrastructure remains functional but becomes clogged due to extraordinarily high traffic.
When internet and cellular services are absent, Crisis Connect can employ direct device-to-device communication via Bluetooth, allowing nearby compatible phones to exchange information without needing mobile data, an active SIM card, or a working cellular tower.
The platform is not meant to replace emergency hotlines, professional radio systems, satellite communications, or official public-safety infrastructure. Instead, it is being built as an extra communication layer that can remain useful when conventional systems are unavailable or under extreme pressure.
More Than Offline Messaging
Crisis Connect is designed as a broader disaster-focused mobile environment rather than a simple offline messenger.
The application integrates communication, SOS functionality, location sharing, and an expanding set of emergency tools into a single interface. The aim is to minimize the need for users to rely on multiple online services or apps during a crisis, especially when connectivity and access to information are limited.
The project also includes features designed around communication between people affected by a disaster and teams operating in the field.
In supported proximity scenarios, field personnel and Crisis Connect users can establish two-way communication without internet or cellular service. This model is intended to offer more than a one-directional distress signal: it can also give responders a way to relay information back to affected users when conventional networks are unavailable.
Development continues around offline communication reliability, SOS workflows, and tools intended for use by both individuals and field teams during disaster response.
Connecting Individuals and Emergency Management Organizations
Alongside the mobile application, the project includes Crisis Connect Hub, an AI-supported disaster and crisis management and decision-support platform designed for emergency operations centers, public institutions, and organizations involved in disaster coordination.
Crisis Connect Hub is being developed to bring communication, field information, incident monitoring, and decision-support capabilities into a shared operational environment.
Artificial intelligence within the platform is intended to support — rather than replace — human decision-making by helping emergency managers process large volumes of information and surface relevant details during rapidly evolving incidents.
The long-term vision is to connect the citizen-facing and field communication capabilities of Crisis Connect with institutional coordination tools, creating a broader communication and decision-support ecosystem that can operate across different stages of a disaster.
An Open-Source Approach to Disaster Communication
Crisis Connect is developed as an open-source project, with its source code publicly available on GitHub.
The open-source model allows developers, researchers, and technical communities to inspect the system, contribute improvements, and evaluate how the technology works. This approach is particularly relevant in emergency communication, where transparency, reliability, and trust can be critical.
The broader offline-first approach behind Crisis Connect has also been discussed internationally. An article examining why disaster risk management needs an offline-first communication layer was published on PreventionWeb, the knowledge platform of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
The article explores the risks of assuming that internet and cellular infrastructure will remain available throughout a disaster and argues for communication strategies in which multiple technologies can complement one another.
Developed by a 17-Year-Old Student
Crisis Connect and Crisis Connect Hub are being developed by Emirhan Duman, a 17-year-old high school student and software developer in Istanbul, Turkey.
The project began with a simple question: if smartphones remain operational after a disaster, why should they become unable to communicate solely because the infrastructure connecting them has failed?
That question evolved into an open-source project aimed at making emergency communication more resilient by combining conventional connectivity with technologies capable of operating independently of central infrastructure.
Crisis Connect is currently available on Android and iOS, while development continues across its offline communication, emergency tools, field-response capabilities and institutional Crisis Connect Hub platform.
Emirhan Duman
Crisis Connect
emirhan@crisisconnect.network
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