Here’s a sharper, more polished rewrite:
India has ordered the removal of Bitchat, an offline Bluetooth mesh messaging app capable of sending encrypted messages and relaying Bitcoin transactions without internet access. The move comes as protesters in Delhi increasingly rely on mesh-based tools to communicate during repeated network shutdowns.
The directive was issued by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, part of the Home Ministry, which instructed GitHub to disable access to three repositories مرتبط with the app within hours under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act.
Officials argue that Bitchat’s structure—requiring no accounts, phone numbers, or centralized logging—makes it extremely difficult for law enforcement to monitor or investigate activity.
Created by Jack Dorsey, the app is a decentralized, open-source platform that uses Bluetooth mesh networks to pass encrypted messages directly between nearby devices, bypassing traditional internet infrastructure.
It also enables offline Bitcoin transfers by relaying transactions across devices until one reconnects and broadcasts them to the blockchain, allowing payments to continue during outages or shutdowns.
This capability—seen by Bitcoin advocates as a key strength—has now placed the app under regulatory pressure.
Since July 20, large-scale protests across India have led to clashes with authorities and repeated internet suspensions. In response, demonstrators have turned to tools like Bitchat to stay connected when conventional networks go offline.
The takedown order specifically targets one of the technologies helping protesters bypass those restrictions.
It remains unclear whether GitHub complied within the required timeframe, as the app was still available on major app stores at the time of reporting.
However, like most open-source projects, Bitchat can be easily mirrored across multiple platforms, making it difficult to fully remove from circulation.
