Apple has removed Bitchat, an offline messaging application associated with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, from its India App Store following a demand from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Dorsey disclosed the removal on October 3 by posting a screenshot of an Apple App Review notice on X. Apple said the application was being removed from the India App Store following a demand from MeitY under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The notice said Bitchat “includes content that is illegal in India”. It did not, however, identify the specific content or explain which provision of law was allegedly violated. Apple directed the developer to contact MeitY for further information about the order.
Apple Removed App
The removal is not limited to the regular App Store listing. Apple said Bitchat would also no longer be available through its TestFlight beta-testing service for users in India. Public TestFlight links for the application were also set to stop working in the country.
The app remains available on Apple’s App Store in other territories selected by the developer, according to the notice shared by Dorsey. This makes the latest action a country-specific restriction rather than a global removal of the application.
Bitchat was also found to be unavailable on Google Play in India when checked by technology news outlets. Its website was similarly reported as inaccessible through some Indian internet service providers. These developments were reported separately, and the available Apple notice does not establish whether Google or internet service providers received the same direction.
Bitchat Uses Bluetooth
Bitchat is designed to allow users to exchange messages without relying on mobile networks, Wi-Fi or a central messaging server. It uses Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networking to connect nearby devices and relay messages between them.
The system is therefore different from conventional messaging services that depend on internet-connected servers. Messages can move between participating devices within the Bluetooth network, allowing communication in situations where conventional internet connectivity is unavailable.
The application was launched in 2025 and became more widely discussed in India after authorities took action against software repositories associated with it earlier this year. Its offline capability has been a central part of that discussion.
Government Action
The latest App Store removal follows an earlier government action involving Bitchat in July. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs, directed GitHub to restrict access to repositories associated with the application, according to reports at the time.
The July action brought attention to the use of decentralised messaging technology during situations involving internet restrictions. Bitchat does not depend on a conventional central server, which makes its operating model different from most mainstream messaging applications.
The specific connection between the July GitHub action and the latest MeitY order has not been established in the Apple notice. Apple’s communication also does not state whether concerns raised during the earlier action formed the basis of the current removal.
Illegal Content Reference
Section 69A of the Information Technology Act provides the legal framework used by the government to direct blocking of public access to information in specified circumstances. The latest Apple notice, however, gives only a broad reference to illegal content.
For now, the publicly available information establishes that MeitY sought the removal, Apple acted on the demand and Bitchat is unavailable through Apple’s Indian App Store.
