Bitchat removed from Apple’s India App Store following govt's demand: Jack Dorsey
Apple has removed the offline messaging app Bitchat from its India App Store following a government demand citing illegal content. Developer Jack Dorsey confirmed the removal, noting that the app was targeted under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act.
Why it matters
The incident underscores the ongoing tension between global tech platforms and the Indian government regarding content regulation and digital sovereignty.
Apple has officially removed the offline messaging application, Bitchat, from its India App Store after a demand from the country's IT Ministry, Jack Dorsey said in an X post on Saturday (October 3, 2026).
"Government of India officially removes Bitchat from the App Store," the app's developer and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey wrote in his post, alongside a screenshot of what appeared to be a notice from Apple's App Review team.
Bitchat, built by Mr. Dorsey, had come under government scrutiny in July this year as well, when the Home Ministry's cybercrime arm, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, had ordered GitHub to remove the Bluetooth-based messaging application.
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