- Chinese apps have started to flourish in India using different loopholes in infrastructure
- They change locations, ownership, and other minute details to escape the scrutiny
- Until, a strict vigilante infrastructure is developed, its next to impossible to curtail them
Ever Since the Galwan valley clash took place, India has refused to provide its consumer base to Chinese apps. However, they have found ways to make a comeback to the Indian market.
Chinese apps up and running in India
In the wake of the Modi government banning 54 more Chinese apps, Economic Times (ET) has come up with a sensational report about the effectiveness of the bans. According to experts in the application industry and online privacy, a lot of these Chinese apps are still functioning in the Indian market.
Experts cited by the aforementioned newspapers have asserted that 70 crore internet users in India are such a big consumer base that no company can afford to lose. Explaining the modus operandi of these apps, experts said, “(Many) of these apps have relaunched themselves with similar sounding names or have re-branded with same functionality and have managed to circumvent scrutiny, so far,”
Apps are finding alternate platforms
A lot of these banned apps are not available on the Google play store in India. However, you can still download them in file format and then launch them on your phone by just agreeing that they are not harmful for your phone. These files are called APK files. Bigo Live has been cited as one of the major apps which is available in APK format on Android.
Read more: Google Play Store a lawless jungle where anyone can publish apps. Latest are Pro-Terror apps!
Cloning
After these apps were banned in India, their employees were believed to have moved to a new company. However, closer analysis by ET reveals that though they have moved to a new company, these companies are strikingly similar to their previous ones (the ones which were banned by the Indian government).
For example, there is a mobile app called Tiki. Several former employees of banned apps like Bigo and Likee are working for Tiki. However, if you observe Tiki app, you will find that it is actually a clone of Likee. Up until now, over 5 crore people have downloaded the alleged clone of the banned Likee app.
Tweaking details like location, identity
These banned apps use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to showcase that their servers are operating from countries other than China. Venus Dhuria, co-founder of AppleHigh said, “The typical modus operandi of these Chinese Apps is to show that they operate from different countries like US, India or Singapore,”
Read more: The game-changing business model of ‘Dark Stores’ in India
New apps are also establishing their bases
Various new apps are also being launched to occupy the audience space vacated by the banned ones. TikTok owner ByteDance is still operating an editing app called CapCut in India. Over 1 crore people have downloaded it to date. Read how they are flaunting the norms.
Read more: Chinese apps continue to flourish in India under new names, despite being banned by the government
UpLive, owned by Asia Innovations Group’s and headquartered in Beijing is more insidious in its approach. To establish familiarity with Indians, it promotes Indian Content creators on its app. It has over 5 crore downloads.
Another such app, YoYo, backed by Hacker Interstellar Inc invokes the audience with references to TikTok and other apps. Its website claims, “In YoYo, you can enjoy voice chat and making friends just as when using Bigo, you can share videos as when using TikTok, Vigo and Likee, you can play games as when using Hago, and you can also share status as when using Helo.”
Series of bans by the Indian government
As reported by the TFI, in 2020, the Indian Government had banned 267 Chinese applications using provisions under Section 69 A of the IT Act. The government had taken down TikTok, UC Browser, PUBG, Helo, AliExpress, Likee, Shareit, Mi Community, WeChat and CamScanner, Baidu Search, Weibo, Bigo Live, apart from some apps from Xiaomi.
Recently, the Modi government has banned another 54 Chinese apps citing them as a threat to national security. The apps that were banned this time 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, among others.
Read more: India bans another 54 Chinese apps
Along with banning apps, it is time for developing a tight vigil around these bans. A lethargic approach is always counterproductive in the maze of the online world, which is already at the zenith of opaqueness. Keeping these Chinese out is not just a strategic victory, but it should also transform into an economic victory for Desi app makers.
