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 violating internet services regulations.
In an X post on Sunday, Dorsey shared a screenshot from Apple’s app review team saying that Bitchat will be removed from the App Store in February and that the TestFlight beta version will no longer be available in China at the request of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).
“Bitchat has withdrawn from China’s App Store,” he said.
BitChat has grown in popularity in recent months during protests in Madagascar, Uganda, Nepal, Indonesia and Iran, as governments seek to cut off normal communication channels and access to the internet to suppress dissent.
The peer-to-peer encrypted messaging service runs entirely on Bluetooth and mesh networks and operates without an internet connection, potentially putting it at odds with China’s heavily censored internet regime.
Bitch Chat violated Internet regulator regulations
The CAC claimed that Bitchat violated Article 3 of the 2018 Regulations Governing Online Services with Public Opinion and Social Mobilization Functions.
The regulation requires online services that have the potential to influence public opinion or enable social mobilization to conduct a security assessment before launch and “be responsible for the results of the assessment,” according to the Google translated version of the regulation.
The app review team also stated that all apps on the store must comply with local requirements in the countries where they are available.
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“We understand this is complex, but it is the user’s responsibility to understand and ensure that their apps comply with all local laws, as well as the guidelines below. And of course, apps that solicit, promote, or encourage criminal or reckless conduct will be rejected,” they added.
Still available in other countries
Despite being discontinued in China, Bitchat remains available in other countries, according to Apple’s app review team.
According to Chrome download statistics, the app has been downloaded more than 3 million times, with more than 92,000 downloads in the past week. Google Play Store has more than 1 million registered downloads.
However, neither region identified the region that caused the bulk of the downloads.
By comparison, WeChat, developed and operated by Tencent, one of China’s largest technology companies, has an estimated 810 million users out of China’s population of more than 1.4 billion.
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