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Chinese apps banned in India: List of apps, latest updates, and more

Here's everything you need to know about the Chinese apps banned in India.
By
July 30, 2021
Tiktok stock photo on smartphone

The Indian government has officially instituted a permanent ban against 60 Chinese apps it initially listed in June last year. This lengthy list includes TikTok, WeChat, Baidu, UC Browser, UC News, and more. You can see the complete list of permanently banned apps below.

India Chinese app ban: The official list

  1. TikTok
  2. Mi Community
  3. Weibo
  4. WeChat
  5. SHAREit
  6. Clash of Kings
  7. DU recorder
  8. YouCam Makeup
  9. DU Battery Saver
  10. DU Browser
  11. DU Cleaner
  12. DU Privacy
  13. DU Recorder
  14. Clean Master – Cheetah
  15. Cache Cleaner
  16. DU Apps Studio
  17. Baidu Translate
  18. Baidu Map
  19. QQ Launcher
  20. QQ Security Centre
  21. QQ Player
  22. QQ Music
  23. QQ Mail
  24. QQ NewsFeed
  25. WeSync
  26. QQ International
  27. New Video Status
  28. V Fly Status Video
  29. Mobile Legends
  30. Vmate
  1. ES File Explorer
  2. Mi Video call-Xiaomi
  3. Parallel Space
  4. SelfieCity
  5. Mail Master
  6. Vault-Hide
  7. Vigo Video
  8. Bigo Live
  9. UC News
  10. UC Browser
  11. BeautyPlus
  12. Xender
  13. ClubFactory
  14. Helo
  15. LIKEE
  16. Kwai
  17. ROMWE
  18. SHEIN
  19. NewsDog
  20. Wonder Camera
  21. Photo Wonder
  22. APUS Browser
  23. VivaVideo- QU Video Inc
  24. CM Browser
  25. Virus Cleaner (Hi Security Lab)
  26. Meitu
  27. Hago Play With New Friends
  28. Cam Scanner
  29. We Meet
  30. Sweet Selfie

As per Times of India, the government was not satisfied by the app companies’ responses with regards to data collection and sharing in the country.

Why were the Chinese apps banned to begin with?

In its original statement on the matter, the Ministry of Electronics & IT had said that the apps in question are “engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, and public order.” You can see the full statement in the images below:

Unfortunately, although the statement makes it clear which apps are part of this Chinese app ban, it doesn’t at all make clear how India will enforce this new policy. Some of the aforementioned apps are still available on the Google Play Store and will continue to work on people’s phones who already have them downloaded.

Related: Google Play Store: A definitive guide for beginners

Other banned apps

Besides these 60 apps that are permanently banned, the Indian government also blocked 118 other Chinese apps in September 2020 and 43 in November. Several other apps were also added to the ban list in the following months, bringing the total to 267 Chinese apps. These include apps like PUBG Mobile, Snack Video, Cam Card, WeWorkChina, WeDate, and more.

That said a revamped version of PUBG Mobile has come to India in the form of Battlegrounds Mobile India. The government gave the go-ahead for the relaunch of the game in India after its publisher Krafton partnered with Microsoft Azure to host all game data locally in the country.


Bookmark this page for more updates on India’s ban on Chinese apps. We’ll revisit this post if and when the status of these banned apps changes.