New Delhi: Bitchat app, which came into discussion during the recent CJP Protest in Delhi, is now banned in India. Let us tell you, this app has been removed from the Indian App Store. The specialty of this messaging app was that it worked even without internet, due to which Gen-Z used it a lot when the network was shut down in Lutyens Delhi during the protests.
App developer and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey himself has given information about this. While posting on X, he said that Apple has taken this action at the behest of the Indian Government. In the notice sent by Apple's App Review Team, it is clearly written that this step has been taken on the demand of IT Ministry MeitY.
What was said in the notice?
According to Apple's notice, Bitchat contains content that is illegal in India, so it does not meet the App Review Guidelines. Along with this, it has also been said in the notice that if the developer wants more information then he can directly contact the ministry.
This is not the first time that action has been taken on this app. Earlier in July, I4C, the cyber security wing of the Home Ministry, had also asked Microsoft's company GitHub to remove it. At present Bitchat has been removed only from the Indian App Store, it will remain available in other countries, but its testing version has also been stopped in India.
How did Bitchat work without internet?
Bitchat is a decentralized and peer-to-peer messaging app. It does not require internet. It works on Bluetooth Low Energy technology. The app searches for nearby devices and creates a bridge between them. It can be understood that if A wants to send a message to C but both are not in Bluetooth range and there is B in between which is in the range of both, then Bitchat will create a virtual network through B. In this, the middle phone works to forward the message, which is called mesh networking.
Along with this, privacy has also been taken full care of. The messages sent in this are end-to-end encrypted, so even the device present in between cannot read the message. This was the reason that during the protests, when the internet was closed in many areas of Delhi, this app proved to be very helpful for the people.