Section 69A IT Act: What Bitchat’s India Removal Means
Apple removed Bitchat from the India App Store after a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) demand under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026 shall come into force on 20 February 2026.
What changed under Section 69A IT Act
Apple’s App Review notification said MeitY issued the takedown demand under Section 69A. Apple cited content it said was illegal in India and therefore inconsistent with its App Review Guidelines.
The notification does not identify the specific content or the particular Section 69A ground involved.
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The removal applies to India. Apple said Bitchat would remain available in other territories selected by the developer through App Store Connect. The TestFlight version would also no longer be available for internal or external testing in India, and public TestFlight links would stop functioning there.
The earlier action involving Bitchat repositories on GitHub was attributed to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act. The source describes the latest MeitY demand under Section 69A as a separate government action.
What affected companies should do next
- If the app is affected, contact MeitY for additional information, as Apple directed the developer to do.
The primary source is Business Today’s report on Apple’s Bitchat removal and the MeitY order, published October 3, 2026.
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