Supabase, a popular developer database platform, is facing disruption in India – one of its key markets – has been blocked in India, according to TechCrunch. New Delhi ordered internet providers to block its website, resulting in patchy access to networks.
The blocking order was issued on February 24 under Section 69A of India’s Information Technology Act, according to a source familiar with the matter. The provision empowers the government to restrict public access to online content.
The Indian government did not publicly state the reason for the move, and it was not immediately clear whether the action was linked to a cybersecurity concern, a copyright complaint or another issue. It was also unclear how long the restrictions would remain in place.
Access to Supabase has been inconsistent in India for the past few days, with the San Francisco-based company acknowledging the issue in social media posts from Wednesday. While the restrictions were first reported by Supabase on Reliance Industries’ JioFiber network, users have since pointed out similar issues across multiple ISPs and telecom networks. In a post on Friday, Supabase tagged India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, asking him to intervene and restore access, though the company later removed the message and said in a follow-up update that the site remained blocked for many users in the country.
An Indian founder, who asked not to be named to avoid potential repercussions, told TechCrunch that they had stopped seeing new user registrations from India in the past two to three days. A technology consultant who works with local startups, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were unable to reliably access Supabase for both development and production purposes.
While Supabase suggested solutions such as switching DNS settings or using a VPN (which reroutes Internet traffic to bypass local restrictions), the founder said such steps were impractical for most end users.
At the time of publication, TechCrunch was able to verify that supabase.co remained unavailable on ACT Fibernet, JioFiber and Airtel connections in New Delhi. However, two users on ACT Fibernet in Bangalore said they were still able to access the service, suggesting the restrictions may be applied unevenly.
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Specifically, Supabase main website remained accessible in India — but its underlying developer infrastructure did not.
India is Supabase’s fourth-largest source of traffic, accounting for about 9% of global visits, according to data from Similarweb, underscoring the potential implications for the country’s developer ecosystem. Global traffic to the platform grew more than 111% year over year to approximately 4.2 million visits in January. In India, visits increased by about 179% to about 365,000, compared to a 168.5% increase in the US to about 627,000.
The incident highlights broader concerns about India’s website-blocking regime, said Raman Jit Singh Chima, director of Asia-Pacific policy at Access Now.
“This is a simple fact that has serious implications for developers and others,” he told TechCrunch. “You don’t know where you can safely run projects without the risk of something happening when it blocks and suddenly you’re trying to find a way.”
India has faced criticism in the past over widespread website blocking measures. In 2014, authorities briefly restricted access to developer platform GitHub, along with services such as Vimeo, Pastebin and Weebly, during a security investigation. Users on some Indian networks in 2023 as well was mentioned that a key area of GitHub content had been blocked by some ISPs, according to previous reports.
Founded in 2020 by CEO Paul Copplestone and CTO Ant Wilson, Supabase is positioned as an open source alternative to the PostgreSQL-based Firebase. The startup has gained traction amid growing interest in so-called “vibe coding” tools and AI-based app development, and has raised about $380 million in three rounds of funding since September 2024, bringing its valuation to $5 billion.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, as well as telecom operators including ACT Fibernet, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, did not respond to requests for comment. Copplestone and Wilson also did not respond.
