[imagesource: Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images]

July’s unrest and looting will live long in the memory of all South Africans.

That’s especially true if you were one of those civilians who spent days defending property and businesses from being looted, as large parts of the nation descended into utter chaos.

In order to communicate with one another, many residents used Zello, a push-to-talk app that turns your phone into a walkie-talkie of sorts.

It wasn’t long before those looking to loot caught on, reports MIT Tech Review:

One Twitter user in South Africa I spoke to (who requested anonymity in light of the current dangerous situation) said that some people were using Zello to figure out which houses and storefronts were ripe for looting, while others were tuning in to gauge whether they should flee or stay where they are.

Image: Zello

Another user, Javhar Singh, said via Twitter DM that he was using it as “live communication among community members to notify us about the whereabouts of looters,” adding: “It is way faster than the news.”

Crucially in such a tense situation, Zello is anonymous. “People don’t have access to your personal number like in WhatsApp,” says [Durban resident Amith] Gosai.

Zello was initially created to help with rescue and recovery efforts following a natural disaster, allowing users to share their location, or communicate with would-be rescuers following an earthquake or flood, for example.

Guys please be advised that looters are listening in on Zello chats and using it to find weakpoints in certain areas

— Post Alone (@javharsingh) July 14, 2021

But its rapidity, as well as ease of use, means it’s also becoming a go-to tool for organising protest action, or in the midst of a violent looting frenzy by people on both sides of the battle lines.

For those trying to prevent the looting, it was a crucial tool in mobilising and organising neighbourhood “command centres”, and anyone patrolling in a vehicle could hear the messages as they came through, rather than having to look at their phones.

Whilst the exact location of where the downloads came from isn’t known, there was a huge spike in the days after the unrest started, with 180 000 downloads recorded during the week of violence.

MyBroadband with more on how the app works:

Zello offers several security features that may help channel administrators avoid adversaries using the system against the very communities they are attacking…

This includes requiring that participants have their phone number and email verified.

Image: Lifewire / Zello

Administrators can also set a password on specific channels and limit the number of participants.

In total, Zello says the app has been downloaded more than 150 million times.

It was popular during the widespread Turkish protests in 2013, as well as being used extensively by anti-government protesters in Venezuela.

During the January 6 storming of the Capitol building in Washington DC, far-right groups also used the app, with some who entered the building communicating on a public Zello channel called “STOP THE STEAL J6”.

[sources:mit&mybb]