India bans 59 Chinese Apps including TikTok and UC Browser

A day after the third round of unsuccessful talks between India and China in order to solve the border dispute the Government of India has decided to block all 59 apps of Chinese origin, and may even impose ban on several Chinese products as well. TikTok, a short video streaming or a micro-video site has already been removed after an interim order passed by the Madras High Court. Apart from TikTok and UC Browser mostly used for surfing the internet, a dozen more Chinese apps are banned or blocked on the Google Play Store as these apps are posing danger to the integrity of the country.

As per the statement from the govt, it is said that these Chinese origin mobile applications are engaged in certain activities endangering the sovereignty and integrity of India, its defence system, the security of the state, and public order. Among the 59 apps that are now banned in the country, TikTok had successfully attracted people’s attention as it was the first social networking site to have reached an audience of first graders. This app was available on both Google Play Store (for Android devices) and Appstore (for iPhones and iPads) and had started reaching out to most of the younger generation in India.

The story behind becoming a popular choice among people over-night was due to the fact that TikTok worked as a content creator. This popular app allowed to –

• Create interesting video content that would otherwise not be easily made or published on the net.

• The app provided a basic framework needed by the people to play or create within.

The app provided people with some useful tools such as filters, control over video speed, and provided access to professional audio uploading. This app was quite popular with the aspiring singers who would still create something fun on the platform with music playing in the background. Banning the apps in the country will come as a blow to China’s Digital Silk Route ambitions and will erode the valuation of the app-building companies.

Coming back to the story of TikTok it was quite successful with the younger audiences as it had helped in capturing whole new demography. This app could have easily paved the way for other platforms that provided the video creators with a new framework. According to technology experts, still after banning the apps from the official platforms or stores, users can still download their unofficial versions from the web which is a security concern. As of now, the Chinese origin apps are blocked from the ISP level, which means that the govt has asked the Internet Service providers or the telecom operators to block access to these apps.

There are several alternative apps in the market that can be used to replace the Chinese counterparts. Here is a list of some of the mobile apps that might change your view such as, for TikTok, Helo, Bigo live, Vmate, etc. there are several alternatives such as Instagram, Chingari, etc. When talking about UC Browser which was a huge hit among the masses there are certain alternative apps such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox which can be considered as the best alternative as of now. Here

are some other alternative for other banned Chinese app –

• YouCam Makeup, and Photo Wonder alternative is B612 which can be a pretty good alternative to replace the Chinese counterparts.

• CamScanner was another useful app popularly used for scanning important documents simply using your phone. Microsoft Lens and Adobe Scan can be an alternative that is easy to use and even fills the same

role.

• Shareit and Xender were those apps that allowed you to transfer different files such as music or photos without using mobile data. These apps can be replaced by Airdrop and Files Go.

• WeChat is a chat and video calling application which is one of the 59 banned apps that can be replaced by WhatsApp which is a popular application in its domain.

With tension brewing across the borders of both the countries, it cannot be estimated as of now on how the ban will prove to be fruitful. The most important thing to be considered is that these Chinese apps were stealing and transmitting user data from servers located outside India. However, the ban will certainly help in protecting confidential user information which will also help in protecting the sovereignty and integrity of India.