Do you still have TikTok, other banned Chinese apps on your smartphone? Here is what you should do

In an unprecedented move, the government of India on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps, including some big names like TikTok, SHAREit and UC Browser. The move came in the wake of India-China clash at the Galwan Valley that claimed the lives of several Indian soldiers at the LAC. These apps were used extensively in India for entertainment and other purposes.

Why these apps were banned? 

The information technology ministry, which issued Monday evening’s ban order, had cited concerns that the 59 applications are ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order’.

The banned applications have been removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store for India. The applications banned by the government include Club Factory, SHAREit, Likee, Mi Video Call (Xiaomi), Weibo, Baidu and Bigo Live.

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Now, while some of these apps can no longer be found on the Google Play Store, those who had already downloaded them can still find these apps on their smartphones. For example, TikTok was downloaded by almost one-third of the country. 

The last time we checked these apps were still running, if already installed.

What should you do?

Ideally, you should remove these apps from your smartphones immediately and look for alternatives. For example, you can switch to Bluetooth file transfer instead of SHAREit. 

Meanwhile, the government has said that it will also be blocking these apps which means that telecom operators could be asked to ensure that these apps don’t open in smartphones. 

“The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs has also sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking of these malicious apps... the government of India has decided to disallow the usage of (these) apps,” the release by the IT Ministry read.

The Chinese apps will be blocked on the networks including 4G and wired internet connections, which are managed by telecom industries including Airtel, Jio and Vodafone. When the apps are blocked at the networks, there will be no way that you can use it unless you decide to use a VPN.