'Substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements': Govt directs GitHub to take down Bluetooth-based Bitchat app

India's cybercrime coordination centre (I4C) directed Microsoft-owned GitHub to remove Bitchat, a Bluetooth-based messaging app developed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

The government cited 'substantial risk of misuse by anti-national elements' and said Bitchat could be used by terrorists and organized crime groups to evade lawful surveillance.

Bitchat enables anonymous, offline messaging over Bluetooth mesh networks without mandatory registration, phone number verification, or centralized logging, which impedes law enforcement interception.

The action follows observations of participants in the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar using Bluetooth-based apps after internet restrictions were imposed.

Jack Dorsey claimed on X that 'The Government of India does not like technologies like Bitchat and wants it taken down.'