Jack Dorsey’s Messaging App Bitchat Just Got Banned in China – Here’s Why

TLDR

• Bitchat was removed from Apple’s China App Store at the request of China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC)
• The CAC said the app violated rules covering services that can influence public opinion or enable social mobilization
• Bitchat runs on Bluetooth and mesh networks, working without an internet connection
• The app has been downloaded over three million times globally, with 92,000+ downloads in the past week
• Bitchat remains available in all other countries and continues to grow

Jack Dorsey’s decentralized messaging app Bitchat has been pulled from Apple’s App Store in China. Apple removed it in February at the direct request of China’s internet regulator.

Dorsey confirmed the removal on Sunday in a post on X, sharing a screenshot from Apple’s app review team. The message said the TestFlight beta version would also no longer be available in China.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said Bitchat violated Article 3 of its regulations on online services with public opinion or social mobilization capabilities. Those rules have been in place since 2018.

Under the rules, any service that could influence public opinion or enable people to organize must complete a security assessment before launch. The CAC said Bitchat did not meet these requirements.

Apple’s review team told Dorsey that all apps on its store must follow local laws in every country where they are available. They said it is the developer’s responsibility to ensure compliance.

Bitchat is different from most messaging apps. It uses Bluetooth and mesh networking, meaning it can work without any internet connection. That feature has made it popular in places where governments have cut off internet access.

Why Bitchat Has Grown During Protests

The app has been used during protests in Madagascar, Uganda, Nepal, Indonesia, and Iran. In each case, local authorities tried to block regular communication channels, but Bitchat kept working.

In Uganda, downloads surged during election-related internet shutdowns. Opposition candidate Bobi Wine promoted the app as a way for people to stay connected when authorities cut off internet access.

This ability to bypass internet shutdowns puts Bitchat directly at odds with China’s tightly controlled censorship system, known as the Great Firewall.

Download Numbers Continue to Rise

Chrome download data shows Bitchat has been installed more than three million times in total. Over 92,000 downloads were recorded in the past week alone. The Google Play Store has logged more than one million registered downloads.

Neither platform breaks down which regions account for the most downloads.

For comparison, WeChat, owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, has around 810 million users in China out of a national population of over 1.4 billion.

Bitchat launched in July of last year. Despite the China removal, it continues to be available in other countries around the world.

The removal from China’s App Store does not affect users who already have the app installed, but new users in China will no longer be able to download it through Apple’s platform.

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