Bitchat is a decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging app that does not require the internet and works over Bluetooth mesh networks. (Image Credit: Bitchat/Github)
Hyderabad: The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Home Ministry’s cybercrime unit, has directed Microsoft-owned GitHub to remove the Bluetooth-based messaging app Bitchat, citing serious security concerns.
The instruction was revealed by the app’s creator and former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, who shared a copy of the notice on X. He wrote, “the government of india does not like technologies like bitchat and wants it taken down.”
Why does the app worry authorities?
According to the notice, Bitchat, launched a year ago, allows users to communicate even when internet services are restricted, which I4C says creates a “substantial risk of misuse” by anti-national elements, terrorist groups, organised criminal networks and cybercriminals looking to dodge lawful detection.
I4C described Bitchat as part of a category of apps that use decentralised, peer-to-peer messaging over Bluetooth mesh networks, allowing devices to communicate directly without mobile networks, internet access or centralised servers. Crucially, the notice noted, the app permits anonymous communication with no mandatory registration, phone number verification or centralised logging, features that “significantly impede” interception, attribution and investigation by law enforcement.
The order follows reports of demonstrators at a Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi using Bluetooth-based messaging apps after the government imposed temporary internet restrictions around the protest site.
I4C said the decentralised nature of such platforms lets them bypass lawful surveillance, enabling anonymous coordination during public disorder, riots, terrorism, organised crime or internet shutdowns. It added that intelligence inputs suggest such apps could be exploited to coordinate unlawful gatherings, spread misinformation, aid radicalisation, and support criminal conspiracies that threaten India’s sovereignty, security and public order.
The notice further pointed out that without a centralised service provider, law enforcement agencies struggle to obtain subscriber information, communication records or timely assistance during investigations, a gap that officials say leaves room for serious misuse.
In its communication to GitHub, I4C stated that Bitchat breaches Sections 43, 84B and 84C of the Information Technology Act, along with Section 61 read with Sections 196 and 197.
Click Here For The Original Source.
