Dorsey shared a screenshot of Apple’s communication on X, which said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had sought the app’s removal under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. New Delhi: Apple has removed Jack Dorsey-backed decentralised messaging app Bitchat from its India App Store following a government direction. The order comes a day after protests were organised in Delhi and Mumbai by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The app, which can function without internet connectivity, had also faced a government takedown move in July.
The government told Apple that the app included content that was illegal in India and directed the company to make it unavailable to users in the country, according to the notice shared by Dorsey. Apple said in its communication that Bitchat would continue to remain available in other territories. The company also said that Bitchat’s TestFlight version, which allows developers to distribute beta versions of apps to users for testing, would no longer be available in India.
This is not the first time the app has faced action in the country. Bitchat had also been subject to a takedown move in July, before again becoming available.
The latest removal means iPhone users in India can no longer download the app through the official App Store. Apple did not respond to queries sent by TOI on the government direction or the reasons cited for removing Bitchat from its India store.