Bitchat app has been removed from India's App Store. Co-founder Jack Dorsey shared Apple's letter and said that action was taken on MeitY's demand. The app came into focus during the CJP protests in July.
Tech: Bitchat app has been removed from India's App Store. App co-founder Jack Dorsey, while sharing the letter of Apple App Review, said that this step was taken on the demand of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The app was widely used among GenZ amid the internet shutdown during CJP protests in July.
Bitchat removed from App Store on MeitY's demand
A case of removal of Bitchat from India's App Store has come to light. App co-founder Jack Dorsey shared the letter sent by Apple App Review on social media platform X. It said that the app is being removed from the App Store of India on the demand of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology i.e. MeitY.
According to Apple's letter, the app is said to contain content which is considered illegal in India and which does not follow the App Review Guidelines. The letter also says that companies providing apps in a country are required to follow the local laws applicable there.
According to the letter, the order has been issued by the Ministry under Section 69(A) of the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000. After this Bitchat has been removed from the India App Store. However, the app will be available on App Stores in other countries that the developer has selected. Even its testing version will no longer work in India.
Bitchat came into limelight during CJP protests
The Bitchat app came into limelight during the CJP protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar in July. Many GenZ users used this app to stay connected with each other after mobile internet service was shut down during the protest.
The specialty of Bitchat is that it does not require an internet connection or mobile network like normal messaging apps. This is the reason why in case of internet service disruption, it became a medium of communication between the protesters.
While sharing Apple's letter, Jack Dorsey also took the name of the Indian government. He told that following the government demand, the app has been removed from the App Store of India.
Even before this, there was talk of action being taken in India regarding Bitchat. According to the report, the government had instructed GitHub to remove Bitchat's repositories i.e. source code and related files from its website.
The app works on Bluetooth Mesh Network
Bitchat is a decentralized peer-to-peer messaging platform. It does not depend on mobile networks, internet connectivity or any central server. The app allows sending messages between nearby devices using Bluetooth Mesh Network.
In simple words, in Bitchat, users present within a certain radius can share messages with each other through Bluetooth. This does not require a traditional internet connection.
This technical feature became a major reason for the use of Bitchat during the CJP protests in July. When mobile internet was not available, participants in the demonstration tried to keep in touch with each other through Bluetooth-based communication.
Currently, the availability of the app is limited in India after Bitchat was removed from the App Store. According to the letter shared by Apple, this app will not be available on the App Store of India, while its availability may continue on the App Store of other selected countries.