Apple has removed the offline messaging application BitChat from its India App Store following a demand from India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), according to the app's developer, Jack Dorsey.

BitChat, built by Dorsey, is designed to relay messages directly between nearby devices over a decentralised mesh, allowing communication to continue even when internet services are shut down — a design that has now drawn takedown demands from two arms of the Indian state within a three-month span.

“Government of India officially removes BitChat from the App Store,” Dorsey, the app's developer and a co-founder of Twitter, now X, wrote in an X post on October 3, 2026. He included what appeared to be a notice from Apple's App Review team.

government of India officially removes bitchat from the App Store — jack (@jack) October 3, 2026

Dorsey tagged Apple's notice in the post. The company said BitChat would be removed from the India App Store “per demand from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)” because “it includes content that is illegal in India.”

“We are writing to notify you that your application, per demand from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), will be removed from the India App Store because it includes content that is illegal in India, which is not in compliance with the App Review Guidelines,” the notice said.

Apple's App Review Guidelines require applications to comply with legal requirements in every location where they are offered. Developers are responsible for understanding and complying with local laws in addition to Apple's guidelines.

According to the notice shared by Dorsey, MeitY issued the takedown demand under Section 69(A) of India's Information Technology Act, 2000 — the provision under which the government can direct intermediaries to block public access to online content on grounds that include the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, and public order. Apple said the developer could contact the ministry directly for more information about the removal or India's laws and requirements.

The application remains available in the App Stores of other territories selected by the developer through App Store Connect, Apple said. However, the TestFlight version — Apple's system for distributing pre-release apps to testers — will also be unavailable for external and internal testing in India, and all public TestFlight links will no longer function there. In practical terms, the removal cuts off both new downloads and beta testing inside India while leaving the app's listing untouched in the other markets where the developer distributes it.

BitChat, which was built by Dorsey, had already faced government action in July 2026. At that time, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Home Ministry's cybercrime arm, ordered Microsoft subsidiary GitHub to remove the Bluetooth-based messaging application during protests by the Cockroach Janta Party over alleged exam paper leaks. Read together, the two actions trace the authorities moving against BitChat at successive layers of its availability — first its code hosting on GitHub, now its consumer distribution through Apple's India storefront.

“The Government of India does not like technologies like BitChat and wants it taken down,” Dorsey said in an X post at the time, while tagging a copy of the July 23 notice.

The July notice followed the use of Bluetooth-based messaging applications by several protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, despite temporary government-imposed restrictions on internet services around the protest site.

I4C said BitChat enables communication during network restrictions and therefore creates a substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements, terrorist organisations, organised criminal groups, and cybercriminals seeking to evade lawful detection and continue communicating despite legally imposed restrictions.

Because BitChat communications take place directly between nearby devices through a decentralised mesh network, I4C said the application could be used to evade lawful surveillance, facilitate anonymous coordination, and circumvent restrictions imposed by authorities during public disorder, riots, terrorism, organised crime, or internet shutdowns.

“Intelligence inputs indicate that such decentralised communication platforms are capable of being exploited for coordinating unlawful assemblies, violent protests, dissemination of misinformation, radicalisation, criminal conspiracies, and other activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, public order, and for facilitating the commission of cognizable offences,” the earlier notice said.

The notice also stated that the absence of a centralised service provider limits law enforcement agencies' ability to obtain subscriber information, communication records, or timely assistance during investigations.

It further said BitChat's design, which allows communication during network restrictions, creates a substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements, terrorist organisations, organised criminal groups, and cybercriminals seeking to evade lawful detection and continue communication despite legally imposed restrictions. I4C cited alleged violations of Sections 43, 84B, and 84C of the IT Act, as well as Section 61 read with Sections 196 and 197.

Dorsey's X post is available here:

The July 2026 GitHub takedown was reported by BitcoinKE: https://bitcoinke.io/2026/07/india-shuts-down-bitchat/