Game over: India bans 117 Chinese apps; check full list here

Game over: India bans 117 Chinese apps; check full list here

In yet another surgical strike on malicious Chinese apps, the Indian government on Wednesday banned 118 apps over national security concerns, including the immensely popular PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile, Baidu and couple of virtual private networks (VPNs) that allowed access to TikTok that was earlier banned.

The action came after the fresh Chinese incursion attempts in Indian territory at Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh.

"This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said in a statement.

The PUBG game, which has more than 600 million downloads and 50 million active players globally, has millions of users, especially young, in India.

PUBG Mobile saw a global revenue gain of $1.3 billion (roughly Rs 9,731 crore) in the first half of this year, bringing its lifetime collection to $3 billion (nearly Rs 22,457 crore) with the highest number of downloads in India which ranks at the top with 175 million installs as people stayed home owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

PUBG was not banned in India earlier as it is not entirely Chinese. The game has been created and managed by Bluehole which is a South Korean organisation.

After PUBG became popular, Tencent -- a Chinese conglomerate -- joined hands with Bluehole to market the product in China and started handling a large portion of its distribution. The game is distributed in India by Tencent Holdings.

The ban on PUBG came as it announced the arrival of a new gaming era with its 1.0 version, along with global mobile esports tournament PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) with a grand prize pool of $2 million (about Rs 15 crore).

Other popular banned apps in the fresh list of banned apps are Baidu and Baidu Express Edition, ShareSave by Xiaomi, WeChat Work, Tencent Weiyun, Tencent Watchlist, Alipay, GO SMS Pro, ZAKZAK Pro and Live, Smart AppLock and Ludo World-Ludo Superstar, among others.

The ministry said that it has decided to block 118 mobile apps in view of information available that "they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

The ministry received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India.

In July, the government barred 47 Chinese apps from operating in the country, which were largely clones of the previously 59 apps banned in June. Check full list

1. APUS Launcher Pro- Theme, Live Wallpapers, Smart

2. APUS Launcher -Theme, Call Show, Wallpaper, HideApps

3. APUS Security -Antivirus, Phone security, Cleaner

4. APUS Turbo Cleaner 2020- Junk Cleaner, Anti-Virus

5. APUS Flashlight-Free & Bright

6. Cut Cut – Cut Out & Photo Background Editor

7. Baidu

8. Baidu Express Edition

9. FaceU – Inspire your Beauty

10. ShareSave by Xiaomi: Latest gadgets, amazing deals

11. CamCard – Business Card Reader

12. CamCard Business

13. CamCard for Salesforce

14. CamOCR

15. InNote

16. VooV Meeting – Tencent Video Conferencing

17. Super Clean – Master of Cleaner, Phone Booster

18. WeChat reading

19. Government WeChat

20. Small Q brush

21. Tencent Weiyun

22. Pitu

23. WeChat Work

24. Cyber Hunter

25. Cyber Hunter Lite

26. Knives Out-No rules, just fight!

27. Super Mecha Champions

28. LifeAfter

29. Dawn of Isles

30. Ludo World-Ludo Superstar

31. Chess Rush

32. PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik

33. PUBG MOBILE LITE

34. Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade

35. Art of Conquest: Dark Horizon

36. Dank Tanks

37. Warpath

38. Game of Sultans

39. Gallery Vault – Hide Pictures And Videos

40. Smart AppLock (App Protect)

41. Message Lock (SMS Lock)-Gallery Vault Developer Team

42. Hide App-Hide Application Icon

43. AppLock

44. AppLock Lite

45. Dual Space – Multiple Accounts & App Cloner

46. ZAKZAK Pro – Live chat & video chat online

47. ZAKZAK LIVE: live-streaming & video chat app

48. Music – Mp3 Player

49. Music Player – Audio Player & 10 Bands Equalizer

50. HD Camera Selfie Beauty Camera

51. Cleaner – Phone Booster

52. Web Browser & Fast Explorer

53. Video Player All Format for Android

54. Photo Gallery HD & Editor

55. Photo Gallery & Album

56. Music Player – Bass Booster – Free Download

57. HD Camera – Beauty Cam with Filters & Panorama

58. HD Camera Pro & Selfie Camera

59. Music Player – MP3 Player & 10 Bands Equalizer

60. Gallery HD

61. Web Browser – Fast, Privacy & Light Web Explorer

62. Web Browser – Secure Explorer

63. Music player – Audio Player

64. Video Player – All Format HD Video Player

65. Lamour Love All Over The World

66. Amour- video chat & call all over the world.

67. MV Master – Make Your Status Video & Community

68. MV Master – Best Video Maker & Photo Video Editor

69. APUS Message Center-Intelligent management

70. LivU Meet new people & Video chat with strangers

71. Carrom Friends : Carrom Board & Pool Game-

72. Ludo All Star- Play Online Ludo Game & Board Games

73. Bike Racing : Moto Traffic Rider Bike Racing Games

74. Rangers Of Oblivion : Online Action MMO RPG Game

75. Z Camera – Photo Editor, Beauty Selfie, Collage

76. GO SMS Pro – Messenger, Free Themes, Emoji

77. U-Dictionary: Oxford Dictionary Free Now Translate

78. Ulike – Define your selfie in trendy style

79. Tantan – Date For Real

80. MICO Chat: New Friends Banaen aur Live Chat karen

81. Kitty Live – Live Streaming & Video Live Chat

82. Malay Social Dating App to Date & Meet Singles

83. Alipay

84. AlipayHK

85. Mobile Taobao

86. Youku

87. Road of Kings- Endless Glory

88. Sina News

89. Netease News

90. Penguin FM

91. Murderous Pursuits

92. Tencent Watchlist (Tencent Technology

93. Learn Chinese AI-Super Chinese

94. HUYA LIVE – Game Live Stream

95. Little Q Album

96. Fighting Landlords – Free and happy Fighting Landlords

97. Hi Meitu

98. Mobile Legends: Pocket

99. VPN for TikTok

100. VPN for TikTok

101. Penguin E-sports Live assistant

102. Buy Cars-offer everything you need, special offers and low prices

103. iPick

104. Beauty Camera Plus – Sweet Camera & Face Selfie

105. Parallel Space Lite – Dual App

106. “Chief Almighty: First Thunder BC

107. MARVEL Super War NetEase Games

108. AFK Arena

109. Creative Destruction NetEase Games

110. Crusaders of Light NetEase Games

111. Mafia City Yotta Games

112. Onmyoji NetEase Games

113. Ride Out Heroes NetEase Games

114. Yimeng Jianghu-Chu Liuxiang has been fully upgraded

115. Legend: Rising Empire NetEase Games

116. Arena of Valor: 5v5 Arena Games

117. Soul Hunters

On June 29, the government banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi's Mi Community over national security concerns amid the border tussle in Ladakh which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese PLA troops.

(With inputs from IANS)

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