In India, they demanded to remove Bitchat from GitHub due to protests

The Indian authorities have demanded that GitHub restrict access to the repositories of the decentralized open source messenger Bitchat, developed with the participation of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. This was reported by The Times of India on July 25.

Dorsey on the social network X (ex. Twitter) published a copy of the order of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Center (I4C). According to the document, GitHub had to restrict access to three repositories for three hours. The authorities explained the requirement by saying that the architecture of the service complicates the work of law enforcement agencies, making it difficult to identify users, intercept messages and conduct investigations. Bitchat was introduced in the summer of 2025 as an offline messenger that does not require an internet connection, registration, phone number, or email. Messages are transmitted directly between devices via a Bluetooth Mesh network.

The developers position the application as a means of communication for emergency situations. However, it was precisely the lack of central infrastructure and control mechanisms that caused the authorities to complain.

The demand for blocking appeared against the background of mass protests in Delhi. According to the government, the demonstrators used mesh networks to coordinate actions in conditions of limited Internet access. Against the background of these events, the popularity of Bitchat in India has grown dramatically. According to TechCrunch and Sensor Tower, from July 17th to July 23rd, India accounted for about 85% of all global app downloads. In five days, users downloaded the messenger more than 91 thousand times, and on July 23, the number of its daily active users in the country exceeded 330 thousand. The audience growth coincided with the protests after the cancellation of the exam results in medical schools due to suspicions of a leak of materials. The participants demanded the resignation of the Minister of Education, who subsequently announced his resignation.

Neighbors first of all: the Iranian war reconciled India with the countries of South Asia

New Delhi extended a helping hand to the states that criticized it amid the energy crisis

In June, the Indian authorities blocked the Telegram messenger due to the use of the platform for fraudulent actions against candidates taking the national entrance exam to medical universities (NEET). The decision was made in accordance with the provisions of the law on information technology, which allows blocking online resources in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of the state.