- India has now officially introduced a Chinese app ban that specifically targets 60 apps.
- Among the apps are the insanely popular TikTok, as well as a few other favorites from Android users.
Update: Jan 26, 2021 (1:33 ET): The Indian government has now officially introduced a permanent ban on the apps it originally listed in June last year. That long list includes TikTok, WeChat, Baidu, and a number of Xiaomi apps.
Per Indian times The government was not happy with the responses from app companies regarding data collection and sharing in the country.
Original article: Jun 29, 2020 (12:09 p.m. ET): Today the Indian government officially introduced a Chinese app ban banning 60 apps. Some of the apps are relatively unknown, but some of them are incredibly popular, including the global TikTok phenomenon.
We got the news via Twitter, but we had heard rumors about a Chinese app ban in the country two weeks ago.
In a related statement, the Department of Electronics and IT stated that the apps in question "are involved in activities that affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defense of India, the security of the state and public order". You can see the full explanation in the images below, as well as the tweet where we found the information:
BIG BREAKING: The Indian government bans 59 Chinese apps, including Tik-Tok. Full list: pic.twitter.com/QR1dpRPln5
- Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) June 29, 2020
There are exactly 60 applications that are part of the Chinese app ban, most of which we were sure would appear on the official list. However, there are some that we weren't expecting.
- Tick tock
- Wed community
- Share it
- Battle of kings
- DU recorder
- YouCam Makeup
- DU battery saving mode
- YOU browser
- YOU cleaner
- YOU data protection
- DU recorder
- Clean master - cheetah
- Cache Cleaner
- DU Apps Studio
- Baidu Translate
- Baidu card
- QQ Launcher
- QQ Security Center
- QQ player
- QQ music
- QQ Mail
- QQ NewsFeed
- WeSync
- QQ International
- New video status
- V Flight status video
- Mobile legends
- Vmate
India Chinese App Ban: The Official List
Unfortunately, although the statement clarifies which apps are part of this Chinese app ban, it is by no means clear how India will enforce this new policy. As far as we can tell, all of the above apps are still available on the Google Play Store and will continue to work on the phones of people who have already downloaded them.
Connected: Google Play Store: A Definitive Beginner's Guide
In addition, some of the above apps are standard apps that come with devices, especially the Xiaomi branded apps. It would be difficult to remove such standard apps even if the Play Store were removed. Would that lock the phone itself?
It's very likely that this is just a token ban, but we reached out to Google to see if the company had any plans to comply with this new Chinese app ban for India. We will let you know when the company gets back to us with an explanation.
In the meantime, if you are in India using any of the above apps, you are technically breaking the ban. Without the listed effects, however, we do not know how serious a "crime" is.
