India bans 54 Chinese apps over threat to national security

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Central Government has banned as many as 54 Chinese apps over threat to national security, reports said.

The banned apps include Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera, Equalizer & Bass Booster, CamCard for SalesForce Ent, Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Chess, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock and Dual Space Lite.

Since June 2020, a total of 224 Chinese apps, including popular ones like TikTok, Shareit, WeChat, Helo, Likee, UC News, Bigo Live, UC Browser, ES File Explorer, and Mi Community, have been banned in India.

Out of the 54 apps, some were earlier banned by the government but had rebranded themselves and relaunched under new names. The banned apps allegedly ran malicious software or sent user information to China-based data centres without user’s consent, reports added.

The apps were being taken down from all app stores.

The Government is likely to release a full list of the banned apps soon to help users identify them.