Bitchat, a decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app developed by Block CEO Jack Dorsey, has been removed from Apple’s App Store in China for allegedly breaching local internet service rules.
In a post on X, Dorsey shared a screenshot from Apple’s app review team saying Bitchat was pulled from the China App Store in February and that the TestFlight beta would no longer be available in China at the request of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). “Bitchat pulled from the China App Store,” he wrote.
The app’s use has increased during recent protests in Madagascar, Uganda, Nepal, Indonesia and Iran, where governments have at times restricted communication channels and internet access to curb dissent. Bitchat is an encrypted peer-to-peer messenger that runs entirely over Bluetooth and mesh networks and can operate without an internet connection — a design that may conflict with China’s censorship and control measures.
The CAC said Bitchat violated Article 3 of its 2018 regulations governing online services with public opinion or social mobilization capabilities. Those rules require online services that could influence public opinion or enable social mobilization to undergo a security assessment before launch and to “be responsible for the assessment results,” according to a translated version of the regulation. Apple’s review team also reminded Dorsey that all apps on its store must comply with local laws where they are distributed, adding that developers are responsible for understanding and ensuring compliance and that apps that solicit, promote or encourage criminal or reckless behavior will be rejected.
Despite its removal in China, Apple’s review team noted Bitchat remains available in other countries. Third-party Chrome download statistics show the app has been downloaded more than three million times, with over 92,000 downloads in the past week, and the Google Play Store lists more than one million registered downloads, though those sources do not specify regional breakdowns.
For context, Tencent’s WeChat is estimated to have about 810 million users in China out of a population exceeding 1.4 billion.
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