Chinese apps grow quietly in India gain, despite ban
At the height of the border tensions last year between India and China, the government took down TikTok, PUBG, and Xiaomi
In a recent investigation, it was found that eight out of the top 60 apps in India are operated by the Chinese, and together reach 211 million users every month, the Times Of India reported on Monday. Last year in July, the same apps had 96 million users, when Chinese apps were banned. This implies that they have 115 million new users in the last 13 months.
At the height of the border tensions last year between India and China, the government took down TikTok, PUBG, UC Browser,Xiaomi, CamScanner, Baidu Search and WeChat.
The Home Ministry had recommended the government to impose a ban to ensure safety and security of citizens, including data protection. As many as 267 apps were banned in the country last year under the provisions of section 69A of the IT Act.
Most of the apps from entertainment space
Despite the ban, however, many apps from the country continue to grow exponentially. Most of these companies have attempted to hide their Chinese roots, by listing their apps with new names and with little public information about the apps.
Almost all the new apps belonged to the media and entertainment space, where companies like Tiktok and SnackVideo were operating in 2020. This is because it allows them to quickly reach a large audience base, according to experts.
PLAYit, which is considered the fastest-growing Chinese app, has grown quickly in India by promoting piracy. Users are able to download pirated copies of movies and show from OTT platforms like Netflix, MXPlayer, SonyLiv and play them back in the PLAYit app through telegram.
A spokesperson from Xiaomi said to the publication, that all the apps that were ordered to be blocked for access in India have been duly blocked and removed from their smartphones and have informed users about these blocked apps.
Any action on new apps will be taken only after the security agencies raised a red flag over their functioning, government officials who spoke with the publication said. Last year too, the ban was ordered by the IT Ministry after the security establishments found the apps’ activities not in consonance with India’s security interest.