Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat disappears from app stores in India after government order

Decentralized communication tools face government censorship and removal from app stores.

Jack Dorsey's decentralized messaging app, Bitchat, has been removed from Apple's App Store and Google Play in India following a government order. The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology cited Section 69A of the Information Technology Act for the directive. This action comes after a previous attempt in July 2026 to restrict the app by ordering GitHub to remove its open-source repositories. Bitchat utilizes Bluetooth mesh networking to enable communication without internet or cellular service, a feature that reportedly concerned Indian authorities due to its potential use during internet shutdowns and its difficulty for law enforcement to trace users. The app saw a surge in popularity in India during recent protests where internet services were suspended, with India accounting for a significant portion of its downloads during that period. Apple's notice indicated that Bitchat would remain available outside India, but its TestFlight beta service would also be blocked.

The removal of Bitchat from Indian app stores highlights a growing tension between governments seeking control over digital communication and the rise of decentralized, internet-independent messaging technologies. This event signals a potential challenge for developers of such tools, as national governments may increasingly leverage existing legal frameworks, like India's IT Act, to restrict access based on functionality rather than content. The broad interpretation of these laws could impact the availability and adoption of technologies designed to operate outside traditional network infrastructures, particularly in regions prone to internet shutdowns or strict digital governance.

For users, this incident underscores the vulnerability of even decentralized applications to state-level control, especially in specific geographic markets. While Bitchat can still be accessed outside India, its disappearance from a major market like India demonstrates how government actions can curtail access to communication tools deemed problematic. This may drive users in similar geopolitical contexts to seek alternative, perhaps less regulated, methods of communication or push developers to explore more resilient distribution strategies to circumvent such restrictions.