India Blocks Popular Developer Platform Supabase Without Explanation
India has blocked access to Supabase, the popular open-source developer database platform valued at $5 billion, in a move that has sent shockwaves through the country's developer community. The blocking order, issued under Section 69A of India's Information Technology Act, came without any public explanation from the government.
What Happened
The blocking order was issued on February 24, 2026, directing internet service providers across India to restrict access to Supabase. The disruption has been inconsistent — while confirmed on major networks including Reliance JioFiber, Bharti Airtel, and ACT Fibernet in New Delhi, some users in Bengaluru on ACT Fibernet reported continued access, suggesting uneven implementation.
Supabase acknowledged the issue on social media, even tagging India's IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asking him to intervene, though the company later removed that message. The platform's main website remains accessible, but its underlying developer infrastructure — the critical part that applications rely on — does not.
The Impact on India's Developer Ecosystem
India is Supabase's fourth-largest source of traffic, accounting for roughly 9% of global visits. The platform saw a massive 179% year-over-year traffic growth in India, reaching approximately 365,000 visits in January 2026 alone. An Indian founder reported that new user sign-ups from India had completely stopped over the past several days.
While Supabase suggested workarounds like switching DNS settings or using a VPN, these solutions are impractical for end users of applications built on the platform. A technology consultant working with local startups confirmed they were unable to reliably access Supabase for both development and production purposes.
A Pattern of Opaque Blocking
This isn't India's first brush with blocking developer platforms. In 2014, authorities briefly restricted access to GitHub along with Vimeo, Pastebin, and Weebly during a security probe. In 2023, users on some Indian networks reported that a key GitHub content domain had been blocked by certain ISPs.
"You don't know where you can safely run projects without the danger that something might happen where it gets blocked, and suddenly you're scrambling to find a way," said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific policy director at Access Now.
The Bottom Line
India's opaque website blocking regime poses a real threat to the country's ambitions as a global technology hub. When a $5 billion developer platform serving hundreds of thousands of Indian developers can be silently blocked without any stated reason, it undermines the trust that startups and developers need to build reliable products. The government's refusal to publicly cite reasons for the block — whether it's a cybersecurity concern, copyright complaint, or something else entirely — makes the situation even more troubling for India's thriving developer ecosystem.
Founded in 2020, Supabase positions itself as an open-source alternative to Firebase built on PostgreSQL. The startup has raised approximately $380 million across three funding rounds since September 2024, driven by rising interest in AI-driven app development and "vibe coding" tools.