Bitchat removed from Apple’s India App Store following govt's demand: Jack Dorsey
Bitchat, built by Mr. Dorsey, had come under government scrutiny in July this year as well
Apple has removed the offline messaging app Bitchat from its India App Store following a demand from the country's IT Ministry, Jack Dorsey announced on X on October 3, 2026. The app's developer and Twitter co-founder Dorsey posted a screenshot of the Apple App Review team notice alongside his statement. According to Apple, the app was removed due to content deemed illegal in India, in compliance with the App Review Guidelines.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued the takedown demand under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Bitchat had previously faced government scrutiny in July this year, when the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre ordered GitHub to remove the app due to concerns over misuse by anti-national elements, terrorist organizations, organized criminal groups, and cybercriminals.
The app remains unavailable in India's App Stores, including in TestFlight for external and internal testing and public TestFlight links.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 4 other outlets
- Bitchat removed from Apple’s India App Store following govt's demand: Jack Dorsey thehindu.com
- Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat disappears from app stores in India after government order techcrunch.com
- Apple removes offline messaging application Bitchat from India App Store timesofindia.indiatimes.com
- Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey's app Bitchat removed by Apple in India economictimes.indiatimes.com
