Garena Free Fire and 53 other Chinese apps banned in India
As per the latest report from The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), The government has issued an order imposing a ban on 54 Chinese apps. The apps are a threat to the privacy and security of Indians. The 54 Chinese apps which include the most popular Garena Free Fire, 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 among others.
Though this is not the first time that the Indian government is banning Chinese apps on grounds of security. In June 2021, India had banned 59 Chinese apps that included major social media apps like TikTok, WeChat, and Helo.
The ban was imposed citing that the majority of apps were red-flagged by security agencies for collecting user data and allegedly sending it out of the country.
The previous app ban had taken place after 20 of the Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers were martyred in violent clashes in Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Later in September 2021, the Indian government had banned 118 more Chinese apps citing a threat to the sovereignty of the country. The government had stated that these apps were “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of the state and public order.”
China has opposed the bans citing it as a violation of the World Trade Organization’s non-discriminatory principles.
Full List of list of 54 blocked Chinese apps in India
The full list of 54 blocked Chinese apps in India is provided below:
- AppLock
- Astracraft
- Badlanders
- Barcode Scanner – QR Code Scan
- Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera
- Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD
- CamCard for SalesForce Ent
- Conquer Online – MMORPG Game
- Conquer Online Il
- CuteU Pro
- CuteU: Match With The World
- Dual Space – 32Bit Support
- Dual Space – 64Bit Support
- Dual Space Lite – Multiple Accounts & Clone App
- Dual Space Pro – 32Bit Support
- Dual Space Pro – Multiple Accounts & App Cloner
- DualSpace Lite – 32Bit Support
- Equalizer – Bass Booster & Volume EQ & Virtualizer
- Equalizer & Bass Booster – Music Volume EQ
- Equalizer Pro – Volume Booster & Bass Booster
- EVE Echoes
- Extraordinary Ones
- FancvU – Video Chat & Meetup
- FancyU pro – Instant Meetup through Video chat!
- FunChat Meet People Around You
- Garena Free Fire – Illuminate
- Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite
- Lica Cam – selfie camera app
- Live Weather & Radar – Alerts
- MoonChat: Enjoy Video Chats
- MP3 Cutter – Ringtone Maker & Audio Cutter
- Music Player – Equalizer & MP3
- Music Player – MP3 Player
- Music Player- Music.Mp3 Player
- Music Plus – MP3 Player
- Nice video baidu
- Notes- Color Notepad, Notebook
- Onmyoji Arena
- Onmyoji Chess
- Parallel Space Lite 32 Support
- Real Lite -video to live!
- Real: Go Live. Make Friends
- Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade IS/APUS Security HD (Pad Version)
- Small World-Enjoy groupchat and video chat
- Stick Fight: The Game Mobile
- Tencent Xriver
- Twilight Pioneers
- UU Game Booster-network solution for high ping
- Video Player Media All Format
- Viva Video Editor – Snack Video Maker with Music
- Voice Recorder & Voice Changer
- Volume Booster – Loud Speaker & Sound Booster
- Wink: Connect Now