WeChat cuts off service in India ( Full list of 59 banned apps )

WeChat cuts off service in India ( Full list of 59 banned apps )

By SinAfricaNews March 13, 2021 0 Comments

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Tencent’s WeChat cuts off all service in India amid the country’s ban on Chinese apps

Super app WeChat, the multipurpose messaging and social media platform run by internet giant Tencent Holdings, has ceased operations in India weeks after a previously announced ban, dealing a blow to the millions of Indian users who use the app for personal and business reasons.
Tencent and other Chinese app operators have had no option but to fall in line with India’s ban, at a time when they also find themselves under increasing pressure from the Trump administration in the US over privacy and censorship issues.
India on Monday banned 47 more Chinese apps after blocking 59 others over privacy and national security concerns, according to an information ministry official and media reports.
“Pursuant to Indian law we are unable to offer you WeChat at this time,” said a notice sent by WeChat on Saturday to an undetermined number of Indian users, who were unable to log into the app.

“We value each of our users, and data security and privacy are of utmost importance to us,” the notice said. “We are engaging with relevant authorities and hope to be able to resume service in the future.”

Some affected Indian users reached out to WeChat’s Twitter account for help.
Around 23 per cent of internet users in India have used WeChat, a survey by research firm GlobalWebIndex last year showed. India had 687.6 million internet users at the end of January, according online statistics portal Statista.
The stakes are high for Tencent to comply with New Delhi’s restriction because at least 10 of the company’s apps have been blacklisted in India, including QQ Mail, QQ Music and short-video platform Kwai.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington could sanction Chinese social media apps, including TikTok and WeChat, over privacy issues and potential national security risks. That has sparked anxiety among many overseas Chinese who use WeChat to keep in touch with family and friends back home, as well as many western companies and individuals who use the app for business.
Late in June, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an interim order banning TikTok, WeChat, UC Browser, Baidu Map and dozens of other China-based apps, citing information that these apps “are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrityof India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
Late in June, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an interim order banning TikTok, WeChat, UC Browser, Baidu Map and dozens of other China-based apps, citing information that these apps “are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
The ban came on the back of online protests calling for people in the vast South Asian country to boycott a range of Chinese-made goods, from apps to smartphones, after a deadly skirmish between the Indian Army and Chinese troops along the two nations’ disputed Himalayan border on June 15.
While there are many uncertainties about the ban, particularly about how it will be enforced in the long term, other affected Chinese app providers have also moved to comply with the Indian government’s directive, including removing their presence in app stores.
ByteDance-owned short video app TikTok, which has about 200 million Indian subscribers and has overtaken YouTube installations in the market, has discontinued its service in the world’s second-most populous country.
The full list of 59 banned apps is as below:
  1. TikTok
  2. SHAREit
  3. Kwai
  4. UC Browser
  5. Baidu map
  6. Shein
  7. Clash of Kings
  8. DU battery saver
  9. Helo
  10. Likee
  11. YouCam makeup
  12. Mi Community
  13. CM Browers
  14. Virus Cleaner
  15. APUS Browser
  16. ROMWE
  17. Club Factory
  18. Newsdog
  19. Beutry Plus
  20. WeChat
  21. UC News
  22. QQ Mail
  23. Weibo
  24. Xender
  25. QQ Music
  26. QQ Newsfeed
  27. Bigo Live
  28. SelfieCity
  29. Mail Master
  30. Parallel Space
  31. Mi Video Call – Xiaomi
  32. WeSync
  33. ES File Explorer
  34. Viva Video – QU Video Inc
  35. Meitu
  36. Vigo Video
  37. New Video Status
  38. DU Recorder
  39. Vault- Hide
  40. Cache Cleaner DU App studio
  41. DU Cleaner
  42. DU Browser
  43. Hago Play With New Friends
  44. Cam Scanner
  45. Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile
  46. Wonder Camera
  47. Photo Wonder
  48. QQ Player
  49. We Meet
  50. Sweet Selfie
  51. Baidu Translate
  52. Vmate
  53. QQ International
  54. QQ Security Center
  55. QQ Launcher
  56. U Video
  57. V fly Status Video
  58. Mobile Legends
  59. DU Privacy
Source: scmp.com

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