The Union Home Ministry on Thursday asked software platform GitHub to remove the repositories for Bitchat, a Bluetooth-based messaging application that can function without internet, citing security concerns, according to a notice shared by application developer Jack Dorsey. Bitchat is an open-source , decentralised messaging application that allows nearby users to communicate without mobile data, Wi-Fi, phone numbers or centralised servers. Private messages are end-to-end encrypted, and the application does not require users to create accounts or provide persistent identifiers. The organisation noted that the government had not made the notice public and that its contents became known only after Dorsey shared it. The police action widened the support for the agitation, which soon spread to other parts of the country.