Key facts
- Bitchat, Jack Dorsey's decentralized messaging app, has been removed from app stores in India.
- The Indian government issued the order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
- Apple's notice stated Bitchat would remain available outside India, but access via TestFlight would also be blocked.
- Bitchat's website was also inaccessible in India.
- In July 2026, Indian authorities had previously ordered GitHub to take down repositories associated with Bitchat.
- The government cited Bitchat's architecture making it difficult for law enforcement to intercept communications or trace users.
- The Internet Freedom Foundation called the order unconstitutional, arguing Section 69A is for blocking unlawful information, not functional apps.
Bitchat, the decentralized messaging app founded by Jack Dorsey, has been removed from Apple and Google's app stores in India. The app, which allows devices to exchange encrypted messages using Bluetooth mesh networking without internet access, was targeted by the Indian government.
Dorsey announced the removal on Saturday, sharing a notice from Apple indicating that India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had ordered the app's removal under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. Apple's notice specified that Bitchat would remain available outside India, but its beta-testing service, TestFlight, would also be blocked domestically.
When checked on Saturday, Bitchat was no longer available on Google Play in India, and its website was inaccessible across various internet service providers. It remains unclear if Google and internet providers also received direct government directives.
This action follows a similar incident in July 2026, when Indian authorities ordered GitHub to remove repositories associated with Bitchat. At that time, the government cited the app's architecture, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to intercept communications or trace users, and its ability to function during internet shutdowns.
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group, has criticized the latest order as unconstitutional, arguing that Section 69A is intended for blocking unlawful content, not for restricting an app based on its operational capabilities. The group also noted that the blocking order and the specific content cited as justification have not been made public.
The restrictions on Bitchat come amid a wave of youth-led protests in India concerning changes to voter rolls. Internet services were suspended in parts of New Delhi during recent demonstrations. During previous internet shutdowns in July, protesters reportedly used Bitchat and a rival app, Briar. Interest in Bitchat surged significantly in India around that time, with the country accounting for approximately 85% of its global downloads in the week following July 17, 2026.