Trying to understand serval project

[ugintl]

I was looking for a chatting app which allows users to communicate even without internet or mobile network. I landed on serval project. I have few questions to understand.

1. If I build the mobile apps, will I be part of a some global mesh network?

2. How can I create my own mesh network independent of yours?

[lakeman]

Any 2 instances of serval will create a network and swap content, if they can create a connection at all. However, since there aren't that many people using it, it's unlikely that you will accidentally create a connection with anyone you don't already know.

[ugintl]

The initial idea is that users who know each other can find themselves in crowded places when there is no internet.