What is Bitchat, Jack Dorsey's messaging app removed from app stores?

India removed Bitchat from major app stores on October 3. Here is what the app does, how it works and why authorities raised concerns

 Bitchat, the Bluetooth-based messaging app developed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has been pulled from app stores in India following a government order. Authorities flagged the app as a law-and-order concern because its decentralised design allows messages to travel between nearby phones without relying on conventional internet networks.

 

What is Bitchat?

 

Bitchat is a decentralised, peer-to-peer messaging app that was announced by Dorsey in July 2025. Unlike WhatsApp or Telegram, it does not require users to have an internet connection, phone numbers, email addresses or conventional accounts to communicate.

 

Bitchat uses Bluetooth to create a network between nearby devices. When users are within range, their phones can connect and relay messages between one another. This means a message can potentially move from one device to another and reach someone who is outside the sender’s immediate Bluetooth range. Some phones effectively act as bridges between groups of users, extending the network.

 

 

The app also supports encrypted messaging and temporary storage of messages on devices, while its design does not depend on a central server.

 

In simple terms, Bitchat is built for situations where the internet is unavailable but nearby devices can still communicate.

 

Bitchat and the Delhi protests

 

Bitchat gained particular attention during student protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in July 2026, when mobile internet services were suspended around the protest site.

 

With conventional mobile messaging affected, protesters could use offline communication tools such as Bitchat to stay connected with people nearby. Its ability to work without cellular internet made it especially relevant in that setting.

 

The interest in the app surged sharply during this period. Sensor Tower data cited by TechCrunch showed that India accounted for around 85 per cent of Bitchat’s global downloads between July 17 and 23, compared with about 1 per cent during the preceding 30 days.

 

Why was Bitchat removed in India?

 

In July 2026, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Ministry of Home Affairs’ nodal agency for tackling cybercrime, directed GitHub to disable access to repositories containing Bitchat’s source code. The government cited concerns around lawful interception, identification and investigation, as well as possible misuse by criminal or terrorist groups.

 

government of India officially removes bitchat from the App Store https://t.co/9oHHiwquec

— jack (@jack) October 3, 2026

On October 3, Bitchat was removed from major app stores in India, with the app no longer available on either Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Apple said its removal followed a demand from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 69A of the IT Act, which allows the government to direct the blocking of public access to online information on specified grounds. Apple said the app contained content considered illegal in India, although its notice did not specify what content was flagged.