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Apple Removes Jack Dorsey's Bitchat from India App Store After MeitY Order
- •Apple has removed Bitchat, an offline messaging app linked to Jack Dorsey, from the India App Store following a takedown request from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- •Dorsey shared Apple's notice on X, stating the removal was under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000, citing "content that is illegal in India" without specifying the content.
- •Bitchat, designed for offline communication via Bluetooth mesh networking, is also unavailable on Google Play in India and its TestFlight beta access is blocked.
- •This is not the first government action against Bitchat; Indian authorities previously asked GitHub to remove associated repositories in July 2026.
- •The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) criticized the order as unconstitutional, questioning the lack of transparency regarding the blocking order and the specific grounds for invoking Section 69A.
Key Questions Answered
Apple removed Bitchat from the India App Store following a takedown request issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, citing content that is illegal in India, though the notice did not specify the exact violating content.
Launched in 2025 and associated with Jack Dorsey, Bitchat uses Bluetooth mesh networking to connect nearby devices, allowing users to exchange encrypted messages without centralized servers or traditional internet connectivity as messages are relayed between nearby devices.
In July 2026, Indian authorities including the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) targeted Bitchat by directing GitHub to remove repositories associated with the app, invoking provisions of the Information Technology Act over concerns that the tool could be exploited during public-order situations.
