India’s cybercrime agency has ordered code-hosting platform GitHub to remove repositories for Bitchat, a bitcoin-linked offline messaging app backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, as authorities attempt to curb protest communications in Delhi.
The directive targets Bitchat, an open-source application that uses Bluetooth-based mesh networking to relay encrypted messages and bitcoin transactions without relying on traditional internet or mobile networks.
Officials say the app’s decentralised design and lack of user registration hinder “lawful interception and investigation”, at a time when protesters in the capital have increasingly turned to mesh-network tools to communicate during repeated government-imposed internet shutdowns.
Mesh apps used during Delhi demonstrations
Demonstrators associated with the “Cockroach Janta Party” movement in Delhi have been using Bitchat and similar Bluetooth mesh applications to coordinate activity while mobile data and broadband access are suspended.
The protests have been driven by anger over exam-related scandals, with organisers allegedly favouring tools that can function offline to avoid disruption when connectivity is cut.
Bitchat’s architecture allows phones to form an ad hoc mesh, passing messages and bitcoin transactions device-to-device until they reach their destination, bypassing central servers and conventional telecom routes.
Three-hour deadline for GitHub
India’s cybercrime agency ordered GitHub to take down the Bitchat repositories within three hours, according to the instruction cited in the report.
At the time of writing, it was not clear whether GitHub had complied with the deadline. The app itself remained downloadable on major app stores on Friday.
Cybersecurity specialists noted that, because Bitchat is open source, its code can easily be mirrored and redistributed beyond a single hosting platform, limiting the impact of any one takedown request.
Authorities warn of enforcement challenges
Officials argue that Bitchat’s decentralised model poses a challenge for law enforcement, as it does not require users to register identities, store data on centralised servers, or route traffic through infrastructure that can be monitored or shut down.
They say this makes it difficult to trace organisers, intercept messages, or block usage through conventional means, even when wider internet access is restricted.
At the same time, protesters see mesh-network apps as a way to maintain communication channels in the face of recurrent internet blackouts, which have become a feature of the government’s crowd-control strategy during periods of unrest.
Open-source nature complicates clampdown
Experts pointed out that the open-source status of Bitchat means its codebase is likely to exist on multiple platforms and personal archives, complicating efforts to remove it completely.
Even if GitHub were to remove the specified repositories, copies could continue to circulate on other hosting services, private servers or peer-to-peer networks, while the app’s binaries remain available through mainstream app stores.
Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency integrated into Bitchat for transactions, was trading at $64,997.48, up 1.06%, at the time referenced in the report.
