India’s cybercrime agency has ordered GitHub to take down three repositories related to Bitchat, an open-source messaging app launched by Twitter co-founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey, according to CoinDesk. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which sits under the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued the order under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act and gave GitHub three hours to comply. In its notice, authorities said Bitchat enables anonymous communication without registration, phone numbers, or centralized logs, and argued that its design “seriously obstructs” lawful interception, tracing, and investigations by law enforcement. Dorsey released Bitchat in July 2025 as an open-source project. The app uses a Bluetooth mesh network to relay encrypted messages between phones without internet access, servers, or user accounts, and it also supports offline forwarding of Bitcoin transactions. CoinDesk said the takedown move was triggered by student protests in Delhi linked to the “Cockroach People’s Party,” where protesters used Bitchat and similar Bluetooth mesh tools to stay connected after repeated internet shutdowns. As of publication, it was still unclear whether GitHub had removed the repositories within the deadline, and the app remained available on Google Play and the App Store.
India’s cybercrime agency has ordered GitHub to remove three repositories linked to Bitchat, a messaging app associated with Twitter co-founder, Block CEO, and Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey, according to CoinDesk.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued the order under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act and told GitHub to take the repositories down within three hours.
In the notice, authorities said the app allows anonymous communication without registration, phone numbers, or centralized logs. They added that its architecture “seriously obstructs lawful interception, tracing, and investigation” by law enforcement agencies.
Dorsey released Bitchat as an open-source project in July 2025. The app uses a Bluetooth mesh network to relay encrypted messages between phones without the internet, servers, or accounts. It also supports offline forwarding of Bitcoin transactions.
CoinDesk said the immediate trigger for the takedown order was a student protest in Delhi tied to the “Cockroach People’s Party.” After the government imposed repeated internet shutdowns, protesters used Bitchat and other Bluetooth mesh networking tools to maintain communications.
As of publication, CoinDesk said it was still unclear whether GitHub had complied within the required time frame. The app also remained available for download on Google Play and the App Store.
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