Bitchat Downloads Skyrocket in India Despite Takedown Order

Bitchat downloads in India surged by over 28,000 daily installs by July 23, 2026, despite a government takedown order. India drove 84% of its global downloads in the week following July 20.

The messaging application saw India contribute 53% of its global downloads for the 30 days ending July 24, 2026, according to Appfigures data.

Daily installs in India jumped from 291 on July 19 to over 28,000 by July 23.

On July 24, Bitchat reached 7th place among social networking applications on the Apple App Store in India.

This marked a significant rise from its 46th place ranking just four days prior.

The app entered Google Play Store rankings on July 22, quickly hitting the 23rd spot among communication apps.

Android devices accounted for approximately 76% of the total downloads within the country, driving much of this growth.

Regulatory Challenge Mounts

This rapid user adoption occurred amidst a government directive aimed at removing the app’s source code from GitHub.

The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has opposed this order, arguing that restricting open-source software could be unconstitutional.

The IFF also raised concerns regarding the transparency of government legal procedures and the potential impact on India’s developer ecosystem.

Bitchat’s long-term viability hinges on the resolution of these ongoing legal disputes.

Stakeholders will closely monitor the outcome of the challenge against the government order and the app’s ability to sustain user growth if platform availability or code access faces further restrictions.