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Chinese apps banned in India: List of apps, latest updates, and more
The Indian government has officially instituted a permanent ban against 60 Chinese apps it initially listed in June last year. This lengthy list includes TikTok, WeChat, Baidu, UC Browser, UC News, and more. You can see the complete list of permanently banned apps below.
India Chinese app ban: The official list
- TikTok
- Mi Community
- SHAREit
- Clash of Kings
- DU recorder
- YouCam Makeup
- DU Battery Saver
- DU Browser
- DU Cleaner
- DU Privacy
- DU Recorder
- Clean Master – Cheetah
- Cache Cleaner
- DU Apps Studio
- Baidu Translate
- Baidu Map
- QQ Launcher
- QQ Security Centre
- QQ Player
- QQ Music
- QQ Mail
- QQ NewsFeed
- WeSync
- QQ International
- New Video Status
- V Fly Status Video
- Mobile Legends
- Vmate
- ES File Explorer
- Mi Video call-Xiaomi
- Parallel Space
- SelfieCity
- Mail Master
- Vault-Hide
- Vigo Video
- Bigo Live
- UC News
- UC Browser
- BeautyPlus
- Xender
- ClubFactory
- Helo
- LIKEE
- Kwai
- ROMWE
- SHEIN
- NewsDog
- Wonder Camera
- Photo Wonder
- APUS Browser
- VivaVideo- QU Video Inc
- CM Browser
- Virus Cleaner (Hi Security Lab)
- Meitu
- Hago Play With New Friends
- Cam Scanner
- We Meet
- Sweet Selfie
As per Times of India, the government was not satisfied by the app companies’ responses with regards to data collection and sharing in the country.
Why were the Chinese apps banned to begin with?
In its original statement on the matter, the Ministry of Electronics & IT had said that the apps in question are “engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, and public order.” You can see the full statement in the images below:
Unfortunately, although the statement makes it clear which apps are part of this Chinese app ban, it doesn’t at all make clear how India will enforce this new policy. Some of the aforementioned apps are still available on the Google Play Store and will continue to work on people’s phones who already have them downloaded.
Related: Google Play Store: A definitive guide for beginners
Other banned apps
Besides these 60 apps that are permanently banned, the Indian government also blocked 118 other Chinese apps in September 2020 and 43 in November. Several other apps were also added to the ban list in the following months, bringing the total to 267 Chinese apps. These include apps like PUBG Mobile, Snack Video, Cam Card, WeWorkChina, WeDate, and more.
That said a revamped version of PUBG Mobile has come to India in the form of Battlegrounds Mobile India. The government gave the go-ahead for the relaunch of the game in India after its publisher Krafton partnered with Microsoft Azure to host all game data locally in the country.
Bookmark this page for more updates on India’s ban on Chinese apps. We’ll revisit this post if and when the status of these banned apps changes.