Supabase, a well-known platform for developer databases, is encountering issues in India — one of its significant markets — as it has been blocked in the country, according to reports from TechCrunch. The government in New Delhi has instructed internet service providers to prohibit access to its website, leading to inconsistent connectivity across various networks.

The directive to block was issued on February 24 under Section 69A of India’s Information Technology Act, as per a source with knowledge of the situation. This legal provision gives the government the authority to limit public access to online materials.

The Indian government has not publicly provided a justification for this action, and it remains unclear if the blockade is related to a cybersecurity issue, a copyright dispute, or another matter. The duration of the restrictions is also uncertain.

Access to Supabase has been irregular in India in recent days, with the San Francisco-based firm acknowledging the predicament in social media updates beginning Wednesday. Initial reports from Supabase indicated problems on Reliance Industries’ JioFiber network, yet users have also pointed out similar access issues on various internet service providers and telecom networks. In a post on Friday, Supabase mentioned India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging him to step in and restore access, but the company later deleted the tweet and clarified in a follow-up that the site was still not accessible for numerous users in the nation.

An Indian entrepreneur, who asked to remain anonymous to prevent potential backlash, informed TechCrunch that they have not seen new user registrations from India in the last two to three days. A tech consultant collaborating with local startups, who also spoke anonymously, stated they could not consistently reach Supabase for both development and production tasks.

While Supabase proposed solutions like changing DNS configurations or utilizing a VPN (which can reroute internet traffic to circumvent local restrictions), the entrepreneur remarked that such measures were impractical for the majority of end users.

At the time of this report, TechCrunch confirmed that supabase.co was still unavailable on ACT Fibernet, JioFiber, and Airtel connections in New Delhi. However, two users on ACT Fibernet in Bengaluru reported they could access the service, suggesting that the restrictions might not be uniformly enforced.

Interestingly, while Supabase’s primary website was still reachable in India, its core developer services were not.

India ranks as Supabase’s fourth-largest traffic source, contributing approximately 9% of global visits, based on Similarweb data, emphasizing the possible repercussions for the developer ecosystem in the country. The platform’s worldwide traffic surged over 111% year over year, reaching about 4.2 million visits in January. In India, visits grew roughly 179% to around 365,000, compared to a 168.5% increase in the U.S. to approximately 627,000.

The situation underscores broader worries regarding India’s website blocking practices, according to Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific policy director at Access Now.

“This is a reality that carries serious implications for developers and others,” he expressed to TechCrunch. “You cannot be certain where you can safely manage projects without the risk that something unforeseen might get blocked, leaving you urgently searching for alternatives.”

India has faced prior censure over extensive website blocking actions. In 2014, authorities momentarily curtailed access to the developer platform GitHub, alongside services such as Vimeo, Pastebin, and Weebly, during a security investigation. Users on various Indian networks in 2023 also reported that a vital GitHub content domain was barred by certain ISPs, as noted in earlier reports.

Established in 2020 by CEO Paul Copplestone and CTO Ant Wilson, Supabase positions itself as an open-source counterpart to Firebase, built upon PostgreSQL. The startup has garnered attention amid increasing interest in “vibe coding” tools and AI-powered app development, successfully raising around $380 million across three funding rounds since September 2024, elevating its valuation to $5 billion.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT, along with telecom companies including ACT Fibernet, Bharti Airtel, and Reliance Jio, did not respond to inquiries for comments. Copplestone and Wilson also did not provide a response.