New Delhi. A big development has come to light in India regarding the offline messaging app Bitchat. Apple has removed this app from India's App Store. Jack Dorsey, developer of Bitchat and co-founder of Twitter, shared this information on social media platform X. According to Dorsey, Apple has ended the availability of Bitchat in India following the demand of MeitY, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India. It has been told that this demand was made under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
In the notice sent by Apple to the app developer, it has been said that Bitchat contains content which is considered illegal in India. On this basis, keeping the app available on India's App Store was not considered in accordance with Apple's App Review Guidelines. According to company rules, the developer of any app has to follow the local laws and regulations of all the countries where he makes his app available. Apple has also given the option to the developer that he can contact the concerned ministry in this matter.
Bitchat will remain available in other countries after being removed from the App Store in India. That is, users will be able to download it in countries whose app stores the developer has selected in App Store Connect. However, its TestFlight version will also be discontinued in India. After this, TestFlight will no longer be available for external and internal testing in India and public TestFlight links will also stop working.
Bitchat is especially known for offline messaging. Its technology does not completely depend on the Internet connection, rather nearby devices can connect directly to each other and create a kind of mesh network. This technology makes this app different from normal messaging platforms. The ability to send messages through a nearby device even when the internet or mobile network was not available had brought it into the limelight.
This is not the first time that government action has come to light regarding Bitchat in India. Earlier in July, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center or I4C, the cyber wing of the Home Ministry, had also demanded the removal of Bitchat from GitHub. At that time the agency had expressed fear of possible misuse of this technology. According to the agency, due to the direct interconnection of devices and forming a mesh network, it can be used to avoid surveillance or bypass internet restrictions.
This entire issue regarding Bitchat has once again brought into discussion the questions related to offline communication technology and digital surveillance. On one hand, such technology can provide an alternative to communication in case of internet disruption, while on the other hand, monitoring the communication through it can be challenging for security agencies. After the removal of the app in India, it will now be kept an eye on what further talks take place between the developer of Bitchat and the Indian authorities and whether a way is found to make the app available again on the Indian App Store in future.