India Bans 59 Chinese Apps: TikTok, WeChat, UC Browser Among Them

On Monday June 29 the Union government announced a ban on use of 59 Chinese mobile applications in India. This list includes top social media platforms such as TikTok, WeChat, UC Browser, ShareIT, Clubfactory amongst others.

The Government has taken to this step amidst rising tension between India and China since the last two weeks. Following many complaints about personal data being exposed and transferred abroad without authority, this ban has been imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

This step by India could lead to other countries also following the cue and taking a step against these apps. This move will also ensure safety and sovereignty of India's cyberspace, and have some major implications on the revenue that China earned through these.

Here's the complete list of the apps banned

1. TikTok
2. Shareit
3. Kwai
4. UC Browser
5. Baidu map
6. Shein
7. Clash of Kings
8. DU battery saver
9. Helo
10. Likee
11. YouCam makeup
12. Mi Community
13. CM Browers
14. Virus Cleaner
15. APUS Browser
16. ROMWE
17. Club Factory
18. Newsdog
19. Beutry Plus
20. WeChat
21. UC News
22. QQ Mail
23. Weibo
24. Xender
25. QQ Music
26. QQ Newsfeed
27. Bigo Live
28. SelfieCity
29. Mail Master
30. Parallel Space
31. Mi Video Call – Xiaomi
32. WeSync
33. ES File Explorer
34. Viva Video – QU Video Inc
35. Meitu
36. Vigo Video
37. New Video Status
38. DU Recorder
39. Vault- Hide
40. Cache Cleaner DU App studio
41. DU Cleaner
42. DU Browser
43. Hago Play With New Friends
44. Cam Scanner
45. Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile
46. Wonder Camera
47. Photo Wonder
48. QQ Player
49. We Meet
50. Sweet Selfie
51. Baidu Translate
52. Vmate
53. QQ International
54. QQ Security Center
55. QQ Launcher
56. U Video
57. V fly Status Video
58. Mobile Legends
59. DU Privacy

Reactions From Indian App Makers

Many Indian app companies have supported this major step as it will help them promote their Indian versions in the Indian market now.

InMobi, owner of the video app Roposo competes with TikTok and said the move would open up the market for its platform. ShareChat, another Indian social networking platform also welcomed this move.

Bolo Indya's co-founder and CEO Varun Saxena said “We welcome the decision as we resonate the concerns raised by the government. This is the opportunity for Bolo Indya and other Indian apps to deliver value, keeping Indian culture and data security at the highest priority,”

Reach Of the Chinese Apps in India 

This will impact one in three smartphone users and the major impact will be seen on TikTok, Clubfactory and UC Browser. The cumulative users of these banned apps in India is about 500 million (50 Crore). TikTok alone has more than 100 million users.

Research firm Sensor Tower estimates the 59 banned apps have accumulated 490 Crore downloads from Apple Inc's India App Store and Alphabet Inc's Google Play since January 2014, including 75 crore so far this year.

TikTok's Clarification Report

Immediately after this announcement was made, TikTok released their statement saying they don't pass any information to any foreign government including China and clarifications for the same have been submitted to the government.

In a statement, TikTok India head Nikhil Gandhi is heard persuading the government to change its stance on the TikTok app “TikTok has democratised the internet by making it available in 14 Indian languages, with hundreds of million of users, artists, story-tellers, educators and performers depending on it for their livelihood, many of whom are first time internet users”

TikTok employees 2,000 people in India, who may also feel the impact of this decision.