Anti-bribery site bribes.fyi goes on indefinite break, data to be deleted

Bribes.fyi, a crowdsourced platform that allowed users to anonymously report bribe demands by government officials, has announced an indefinite break and said all recorded data will be permanently deleted. The website, created by BTech student Aryan Nishad, had gone viral after its launch, gathering 3,713 reports from across India by August 18. The platform said the decision was voluntary and a precaution to prevent misuse, not a response to any complaint.

Deccan Herald reports that the platform had temporarily paused submissions earlier to review its legal and financial infrastructure. ABP News reports that the website now says it has no plans to enable submissions again and will shut down permanently after its status page remains live for some time. The site had allowed users to report incidents of bribe demands, including whether they paid or refused, and organise reports by department and city. Karnataka recorded the highest number of reports, with 690, followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The team behind bribes.fyi has invited lawyers and chartered accountants experienced in Indian technology to contribute their expertise, emphasising the need for sustainable operations rather than relying on a viral moment. The platform had received over 5 million requests and about 200,000 new users in 48 hours before going on break.