Apple Removes Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat From China App Store

Key Takeaways

• Apple removed Bitchat from the China App Store connected February 28, 2026, citing section ineligible violations.

• The Cyberspace Administration of China claims Bitchat violates Article 3 of its information appraisal provisions.

• Bitchat reached a 10,000-user bounds connected Testflight earlier its removal from the Chinese marketplace successful aboriginal 2026.

Chinese Crackdown connected Peer-to-Peer Messaging

Apple Inc. notified Block Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey that his decentralized messaging application, Bitchat, has been removed from the China App Store. The removal, effectual arsenic of February 28, 2026, was triggered by a ceremonial request from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) regarding the app’s non-compliance with section information regulations.

The CAC determined that Bitchat violates Article 3 of the “Provisions connected the Security Assessment of Internet-based Information Services with Attribute of Public Opinions oregon Capable of Social Mobilization.” These regulations necessitate immoderate work susceptible of influencing nationalist sentiment to acquisition a state-mandated information assessment. Bitchat, which operates via Bluetooth mesh networking without requiring an net transportation oregon nationalist infrastructure, was flagged for its “social mobilization” capabilities.

While the exertion is nary longer disposable successful China, it remains accessible successful each different planetary territories done App Store Connect. Apple’s announcement besides confirmed that the Testflight mentation of the app—which had antecedently reached its maximum capableness of 10,000 testers—has been disabled for each users and interior testers located wrong mainland China.