Jack Dorsey’s offline messaging app Bitchat blocked in India under IT Act order
Apple and Google have pulled the Bluetooth-based app from their Indian stores after a MeitY order under Section 69A. Dorsey shared Apple's notice on X.
Bitchat, the offline messaging app built by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has been removed from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store in India following an order from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The app’s website has also become inaccessible in the country, Inc42 reported on 4 October.
What Bitchat is
Launched in 2025, Bitchat is an open-source app that lets phones send messages to each other over Bluetooth, hopping from device to device in a mesh network. It works without internet access or central servers, and users do not need an account, phone number or email address.
What the order says
Apple’s notice to the developer said MeitY had issued directions under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which allows the government to block public access to online content in the interest of sovereignty, security, public order and related grounds. According to the notice, the app “allegedly included content deemed illegal in India.” Beta-testing access through Apple’s TestFlight has also been blocked in India, though the app remains available elsewhere. Apple advised the developer to seek further details from MeitY.
Dorsey posted Apple’s email publicly on X.
The background
This is not the first action against the app. In July 2026, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) directed GitHub to remove Bitchat’s code repositories. It argued that anonymous communication prevents authorities from obtaining subscriber details during investigations and could be used for “unlawful assemblies, protests, or criminal activities.”
What this means for you
If you already have Bitchat installed, the block covers new downloads and updates through the app stores in India. Orders under Section 69A are confidential by law, so the exact reasons are not usually made public. Users and the developer can challenge such orders, and several have been contested in the courts in recent years.
What happens next
Neither MeitY nor Dorsey has given further details. We will update this story if the ministry or the developer responds.
Sources: Inc42.