Published Jul 24, 2026 | 6:12 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 24, 2026 | 6:18 PM
BitChat uses Bluetooth mesh networking and does not require user registration, phone number verification or a central server to route communications.
Synopsis: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has directed GitHub to remove repositories hosting BitChat, a decentralised Bluetooth messaging app used by student protestors during repeated internet shutdowns around Jantar Mantar, saying it allows the evasion of ‘lawful surveillance’ and threatens national security. The Internet Freedom Foundation has termed the order unconstitutional and authoritarian, and said it lacks a legal basis.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has directed developer platform GitHub to remove or disable access to three repositories associated with BitChat, the open-source, decentralised Bluetooth-based messaging application that has become increasingly popular among student protestors at Jantar Mantar amid repeated communications blackouts imposed by the Centre.
Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter (now X), who also leads the team developing BitChat, shared a notice on X issued by the Centre under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, demanding the removal of the links.
“The government of india does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down,” Dorsey added.
the government of india does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down pic.twitter.com/gjzMg1NGCi
— jack (@jack) July 24, 2026
The order, issued by the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) at 11.16 pm on 23 July, states that the platform must remove or disable access to the specified URLs within three hours. It says failure to comply could result in the loss of intermediary safe harbour protections and liability under applicable laws.
BitChat uses Bluetooth mesh networking and does not require user registration, phone number verification or a central server to route communications, enabling users to communicate during internet shutdowns. Messages hop from one nearby device to another until they reach their destination.
Since 17 July, the Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended mobile internet around Jantar Mantar at least five times. Delhi Police have also employed signal jammers to block communications. Reports from Jantar Mantar showed that journalists had to walk for kilometres away from the protest site to file updates.
The repositories in question are those hosting the BitChat source code, its Android application and Android release files. At the time of publication, all three repositories are available in India.
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The notice identifies BitChat’s ability to function without mobile networks or internet connectivity, the absence of mandatory user registration, phone number verification and centralised communication logs, and its use of a decentralised Bluetooth mesh network as grounds for directing GitHub to remove the repositories.
“…decentralized peer-to-peer messaging over Bluetooth mesh networks without relying on mobile networks, internet connectivity, or centralized servers. The application enables anonymous communication without mandatory user registration, phone number verification, or centralized logging of communications. The technical architecture of the application significantly impedes lawful interception, attribution, and investigation by law enforcement agencies,” the order states.
It states that because communications occur directly between nearby devices through a decentralised mesh network, the application can “evade lawful surveillance”, “facilitate anonymous coordination”, and “circumvent lawful restrictions” during internet shutdowns. The notice further claims that such platforms are capable of being exploited for “unlawful assemblies”, “violent protests”, “terrorism”, “organized crime”, “radicalization”, and other activities affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India, public order and national security.
“The absence of a centralized service provider also limits the ability of law enforcement agencies to obtain subscriber information, communication records, or timely assistance during investigations. The application’s design, which enables communication even during network restrictions, creates a substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements, terrorist organizations, organized criminal groups, and cybercriminals seeking to evade lawful detection and continue communication despite legally imposed restrictions,” the order states.
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The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) criticised the order and said it was unconstitutional and authoritarian.
“It is striking that the order does not identify a single unlawful message. It objects to what BitChat is. In its own words, the application is dangerous because it enables communication “even during network restrictions” and can “circumvent lawful restrictions” during “internet shutdowns”. Hence, the government’s objection is that citizens can speak to one another while it has switched the internet off,” the organisation said in a statement.
The IFF said the order was illegal on four grounds. It said Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act was not a blocking power, and that blocking was governed exclusively by Section 69A and the Blocking Rules, 2009. It said the order did not identify any unlawful information and instead rested on what the application was “capable of” enabling. “Anticipated misuse of a communications tool is not a lawful basis to prohibit the tool. By this logic a telephone exchange could be sealed,” it said.
Statement : The blocking of BitChat’s code on GitHub is unconstitutional and authoritarian.
New Delhi, 24 July 2026
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) condemns the order issued by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, directing GitHub… pic.twitter.com/s3wdJEOPK7
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) July 24, 2026
It said the three-hour deadline foreclosed legal assessment and recourse, failed the proportionality standard laid down by the Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020), and would not stop BitChat from functioning because deleting the repositories would not remove the application from devices that had already downloaded it. “What the takedown actually prevents is scrutiny of the underlying code,” it said.
The IFF called on the Government to withdraw the notice issued to GitHub, publish all takedown directions issued under Section 79(3)(b), Rule 3(1)(d) and the Sahyog Portal with recorded reasons, restore full internet connectivity around Jantar Mantar, publish all suspension orders, and disclose the legal authority for deploying signal jammers.
