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

Bitchat, Jack Dorsey’s decentralized messaging app that uses Bluetooth mesh networking to work without internet access, is no longer available through Apple’s App Store or Google Play in India. Dorsey said Apple cited an order from India’s IT ministry under Section 69A, and the app’s website also appears inaccessible across multiple Indian ISPs.

The move highlights India’s growing scrutiny of tools that enable encrypted offline messaging, especially when they limit government visibility into communications. It may intensify tensions between digital rights advocates, platform operators, and regulators over whether software can be restricted based on its architecture rather than specific content.