Apple has removed Bitchat from the China App Store at the request of the Cyberspace Administration of China. Here are the details.

Bitchat Provides Anonymous and Peer-to-Peer Communication

Last year, we covered the launch of Bitchat, developed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey (then called bitchat mesh). Dorsey is currently the CEO of Block.

Bitchat has gained popularity in countries like Uganda, Iran, and Nepal, which face internet outages and social media restrictions. In these countries, the app's download numbers significantly increased during protests and government restrictions on major platforms.

Unlike traditional messaging applications, Bitchat does not rely on internet-connected servers and uses Bluetooth-based peer-to-peer networking.

As we mentioned in our announcement during its official launch in July:

Thanks to its privacy-focused and decentralized approach, bitchat mesh has no servers, accounts, or user information and does not collect data. This may raise regulatory eyebrows in several countries, but let's save that for another time.

Nearly nine months later, it seems the time has come.

As Dorsey noted on X, Apple removed Bitchat from the App Store at the request of the CAC.

bitchat was removed from the china app store pic.twitter.com/jrrd0gDrA9

— jack (@jack) April 5, 2026

According to Apple, the CAC claimed that the app violated Article 3 of the "Regulations on Security Assessment of Public Information Service". This article requires applications that have the capacity to influence the public or mobilize users to undergo a security assessment before being released or updated.

Dorsey did not detail what steps Bitchat would take to return to the China App Store.

Products Worth Browsing on Amazon

  • David Pogue – 'Apple: The First 50 Years'
  • MacBook Neo
  • Logitech MX Master 4
  • AirPods Pro 3
  • AirTag (2nd Generation) – 4 Pack
  • Apple Watch Series 11
  • Wireless CarPlay Adapter