Jack Dorsey's Bitchat vanishes from Indian app stores after government order

Bitchat — Jack Dorsey's decentralized messaging app that works without an internet connection — has disappeared from Apple's and Google's app stores in India, months after New Delhi first moved to restrict access to the open-source software.

On Saturday Dorsey said the Indian government had ordered Apple to remove Bitchat from its local App Store. In an Apple notice he posted to X, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the demand under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the country's primary legal mechanism for government-ordered online blocking.

Apple said the app would stay available outside India, but access through its TestFlight beta service would also be blocked in the country. When TechCrunch checked on Saturday, Bitchat was likewise no longer downloadable via Google Play in India, and its website was unreachable through several internet providers. Whether Google and the providers had received similar directions was unclear. Apple, Google, and the IT ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

How Bitchat works

Launched in July last year, Bitchat uses Bluetooth mesh networking so that nearby devices can exchange encrypted messages without cellular networks, internet access, or centralized servers.

Back in July 2026, Dorsey revealed that Indian authorities had ordered GitHub to take down repositories tied to the app. At the time the government argued that Bitchat's architecture made it hard for law enforcement to intercept communications or trace users, and pointed to its ability to keep running during internet shutdowns. That July order relied on a provision dealing with intermediaries and their liability for third-party content — different from the Section 69A cited in Apple's latest notice.

Rights groups push back

The New Delhi-based Internet Freedom Foundation called the new order unconstitutional. Section 69A, it argued, lets the government block unlawful information, not a messaging app merely because it can operate during internet shutdowns. The group also noted that neither the blocking order nor the allegedly illegal content cited as its basis had been made public.

The new restrictions coincide with a wave of youth-led protests over changes to the country's voter rolls. On Saturday police detained several demonstrators in New Delhi who demanded the chief election commissioner's resignation; on Friday internet service near Jantar Mantar was suspended for 12 hours. During July's protests, after connectivity was cut, demonstrators reportedly turned to Bitchat and the rival app Briar. Interest surged around the same time: per Sensor Tower, India accounted for about 85% of the app's global downloads between July 17 and 23, up from roughly 1% the previous month.

Source: TechCrunch