Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat disappears from app stores in India after government order
Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat disappears from app stores in India after government order
杰克·多西的 Bitchat 在印度政府下令后从应用商店下架
Bitchat, Jack Dorsey’s decentralized messaging app designed to work without an internet connection, has disappeared from Apple and Google’s app stores in India, months after New Delhi first sought to restrict access to the open-source software. 杰克·多西（Jack Dorsey）旗下旨在无需互联网连接即可运行的去中心化通讯应用 Bitchat，已从印度境内的苹果和谷歌应用商店中消失。此前，新德里方面曾于数月前首次试图限制对该开源软件的访问。
Dorsey said Saturday that the Indian government had ordered Apple to remove Bitchat from its App Store in the country. In a notice from Apple that Dorsey posted on X, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the demand under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the country’s primary legal provision for government-ordered online blocking. 多西周六表示，印度政府已下令苹果公司将其 App Store 在印度的 Bitchat 应用下架。多西在 X（原推特）上发布了苹果公司发出的通知，显示印度电子和信息技术部是根据《信息技术法》第 69A 条款提出这一要求的，该条款是印度政府下令进行网络封锁的主要法律依据。
Apple’s notice said Bitchat would remain available on its App Store outside India. However, access to the app through its TestFlight beta-testing service would also be blocked in the country. Bitchat was also no longer available for download through Google Play in India when TechCrunch checked on Saturday. Bitchat’s website was also inaccessible across various internet service providers in the country. It was not immediately clear whether Google and internet service providers had also received directions from the federal government. Apple, Google, and India’s IT ministry did not respond to requests for comment. 苹果的通知称，Bitchat 在印度以外地区的 App Store 中仍可使用。然而，该应用在印度境内的 TestFlight 测试服务访问权限也将被封锁。TechCrunch 周六核实发现，Bitchat 也已无法通过印度的 Google Play 下载。此外，Bitchat 的网站在印度各大互联网服务提供商处均无法访问。目前尚不清楚谷歌和互联网服务提供商是否也收到了联邦政府的指令。苹果、谷歌和印度信息技术部均未回应置评请求。
Launched in July last year, Bitchat uses Bluetooth mesh networking to allow nearby devices to exchange encrypted messages without relying on cellular networks, internet access, or centralized servers. Bitchat 于去年 7 月推出，利用蓝牙网状网络（Bluetooth mesh networking）技术，允许附近的设备在不依赖蜂窝网络、互联网接入或中心化服务器的情况下交换加密信息。
In July 2026, Dorsey revealed that Indian authorities had ordered GitHub to take down repositories associated with the open-source messaging app, raising questions among digital rights advocates and legal experts about the legal basis for restricting software based on its functionality. 2026 年 7 月，多西透露印度当局曾下令 GitHub 删除与该开源通讯应用相关的代码库，这引发了数字权利倡导者和法律专家对“基于功能限制软件”这一做法的法律依据的质疑。
The Indian government said in its order to GitHub at the time that Bitchat’s architecture made it hard for law enforcement agencies to intercept communications or trace users, and pointed to its ability to continue operating during internet shutdowns. The July order relied on a provision of India’s information technology law that deals with intermediaries and their liability for third-party content. That differs from Section 69A, cited in Apple’s latest notice. 印度政府当时在给 GitHub 的命令中称，Bitchat 的架构使得执法机构难以拦截通信或追踪用户，并指出了其在互联网中断期间仍能继续运行的能力。7 月份的那份命令依据的是印度信息技术法中关于中介机构及其对第三方内容承担责任的条款。这与苹果最新通知中引用的第 69A 条款有所不同。
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital rights advocacy group, called the latest order unconstitutional, arguing that Section 69A allows the government to block unlawful information but not a messaging app because of its ability to operate during internet shutdowns. It also said neither the blocking order nor the allegedly illegal content cited as the basis for the action had been made public. 总部位于新德里的数字权利倡导组织“互联网自由基金会”（Internet Freedom Foundation）称该最新命令违宪，并辩称第 69A 条款允许政府封锁非法信息，但不能因为一款通讯应用具备在互联网中断期间运行的能力就将其封锁。该组织还表示，无论是封锁令还是作为行动依据的所谓非法内容，均未向公众披露。
The latest restrictions on Bitchat come as India is seeing a fresh wave of youth-led protests over changes to the country’s voter rolls. Police detained several people during demonstrations in New Delhi on Saturday, as protesters demanded the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls. Authorities suspended internet services around New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for 12 hours on Friday during protests there. 针对 Bitchat 的最新限制措施出台之际，印度正因选民名册变更引发新一轮由青年主导的抗议浪潮。周六，在新德里的示威活动中，警方拘留了数人，抗议者要求印度首席选举专员因涉嫌操纵选民名册而辞职。周五，当局在新德里简塔·曼塔天文台（Jantar Mantar）附近的抗议活动期间，中断了当地 12 小时的互联网服务。
During July’s protests, demonstrators reportedly turned to Bitchat and rival app Briar after authorities suspended internet services. Interest in Bitchat surged in India around the same time. The country accounted for about 85% of the app’s global downloads between July 17 and July 23, up from roughly 1% in the previous 30 days, data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower showed. 据报道，在 7 月份的抗议活动中，当局中断互联网服务后，示威者转而使用 Bitchat 和竞争对手应用 Briar。与此同时，印度对 Bitchat 的兴趣激增。市场情报公司 Sensor Tower 的数据显示，7 月 17 日至 7 月 23 日期间，印度占该应用全球下载量的约 85%，而此前 30 天这一比例仅为约 1%。