PUBG Might Be Banned In India As Part Of Ongoing Chinese App Purge

If you are a frequent user of a Chinese app, now is the time to look for an alternative as after banning 59 Chinese apps a month ago, the Indian government on Monday axed another 47 applications with ties to China.

According to reports, the newly banned apps were clones of those prohibited earlier. A list with these app names will be made public shortly.

Some reports reveal that the Indian government has a list of another 250 apps, some of them are linked to Alibaba, citing security and privacy reasons. The Chinese apps list also has PUBG (or PlayerUnknown’s Battleground) a hugely popular game among youngsters in India.

Among the 250 apps on the latest list, some are India’s most popular gaming applications. These apps are thought to share players’ data without informing them.

The sudden ban of 59 Chinese apps followed a deadly clash between China and India among the Line of Actual Control. The Indian government outlawed these apps saying that they were a threat to India’s integrity and sovereignty, public order, and the security of the state.

Apple and Google later adhered to the ban and took down these apps from their app store. The clash has triggered a wave of public outrage over Chinese products all over India.

According to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad of India, this move was a digital strike and also a springboard to boost the application of India-made apps. Suddenly overnight, Indian developers saw a huge number of new users, forcing them to upgrade their hardware to keep up with the demand.

So now most users are no longer wondering Chinese app vs Indian app, which one is better, they go for the Indian alternatives.

TikTok, with 200 million users in India, is by far the most notable Chinese app being banned. With this Chinese short video sharing application out of the picture, some local competitors saw their user base increased by at least 10 million.

With Chinese rivals having a hard time surviving in India, Indian developers are having a once in a lifetime opportunity to strengthen their presence in India and attract more users.

The resentment toward China is such that Chinese app detector gets famous overnight.

In answer to the Chinese app ban, Zhao Lijian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, expressed concern over the decision of the Indian government.

Chinese App Alternative

Triller (Alternative to TikTok)

TikTok has raised several concerns among users but privacy is arguably the most notable problem with this Chinese app.

In the US, four senators have made requests to the FTC to look into TikTok after it failed to remove videos made by children under 13 years old according to their 2019 agreement.

The Chinese app for short video sharing is accused of sharing user data with China.

So now when TikTok is gone, users can opt for Triller as an alternative.

Google Chrome – (Alternative to UC Browser, APUS Browser, DU Browser and CM Browser)

UC Browser was India and China’s second most common web browser. In 2015, Citizen Lab Made public a report revealing that the Alibaba-owned web browser sent data to an Alibaba-owned analytic tool called Umeng without any encryption to protect it.

Those who are looking for an alternative to this Chinese app can consider Google Chrome.

ShareChat – Helo Alternative

Chinese app Helo has had a huge success in India. It allows users to discover content worth sharing and helps them send it to communities and friends.

What makes Helo’s success is the curated content for each region. With support for 14 Indian languages, the app is among the top rankings on Plat Store.

When Helo is out of the picture, its Indian users can opt for ShareChat.

Files by Google (Alternative to SHAREit, Xender)

ShareIt used to be an app for file transfer but later switched to content and works just like ShareChat and Helo.

Adobe Scan – CamScanner Alternative

CamScanner is for scanning documents and the company behind it is INTSIG, a Shanghai-based company.

The Chinese app was removed last year after a Trojan Horse module was found in it.

Those who find themselves in need of scanning can use Adobe Scan instead.

ProtonVPN – TurboVPN Alternative

TurboVPN pulls in users with its no speed or data limit policies. While it seems like the company behind it is based in Singapore, which means it isn’t exactly a Chinese app, Innovative Connecting has ties to the government of China.

For secure browsing, Indian users can use ProtonVPN.

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