Bitchat removed from Indian app stores following government directive

Bitchat, the decentralised messaging application developed by Jack Dorsey, has been removed from the Apple and Google app stores in India. The removal follows a directive from the Indian government, marking a significant escalation in the regulatory scrutiny of the open-source software. Dorsey confirmed on Saturday that the Indian authorities had ordered Apple to delist the application from its domestic App Store. This action comes months after New Delhi first sought to restrict access to the platform, signalling a sustained effort to limit the availability of communication tools that operate outside standard internet infrastructure.

According to a notice from Apple that Dorsey shared on the social media platform X, the demand was issued by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The order was made under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which serves as the primary legal provision for government-ordered online blocking in the country. Apple’s statement clarified that while Bitchat would be unavailable in India, it would remain accessible on the App Store in all other regions. However, the company also noted that access to the application through its TestFlight beta-testing service would be blocked within India, effectively cutting off a secondary channel for users to obtain the software.

TechCrunch verified that Bitchat was no longer available for download via Google Play in India on Saturday. Furthermore, the application’s website was found to be inaccessible across various internet service providers in the country. It remains unclear whether Google and the local internet service providers received similar directives from the federal government, as neither company nor the ministry responded to requests for comment. The simultaneous disappearance from both major app stores and the web suggests a coordinated enforcement of the government’s blocking order, although the specific legal mechanisms used by each entity have not been fully detailed.

Bitchat was launched in July of last year and utilises Bluetooth mesh networking technology. This allows nearby devices to exchange encrypted messages without relying on cellular networks, traditional internet access, or centralised servers. The app’s design specifically enables communication during internet shutdowns, a feature that has drawn significant attention from both users and authorities. In July 2026, Dorsey disclosed that Indian authorities had previously ordered GitHub to remove repositories associated with the app. At that time, the government cited the app’s architecture, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to intercept communications or trace users, as the primary concern. That earlier order relied on provisions of India’s information technology law concerning intermediary liability, differing from the Section 69A citation used in the latest Apple notice.

The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group based in New Delhi, has described the latest order as unconstitutional. The group argues that Section 69A permits the government to block unlawful information but does not extend to blocking a messaging application solely because of its capability to function during internet outages. The foundation also highlighted that neither the blocking order nor the allegedly illegal content cited as the basis for the action has been made public, raising concerns about transparency and due process.

The restrictions on Bitchat coincide with a fresh wave of youth-led protests in India over changes to the country’s voter rolls. On Saturday, police detained several individuals during demonstrations in New Delhi, where protesters demanded the resignation of the chief election commissioner over alleged manipulation of electoral records. Authorities suspended internet services around New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for 12 hours on Friday during these protests. During the demonstrations in July, demonstrators reportedly turned to Bitchat and the rival app Briar after authorities suspended internet services, leading to a surge in interest. Data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicated that India accounted for approximately 85% of the app’s global downloads between July 17 and July 23, a sharp increase from roughly 1% in the preceding 30 days.