New Delhi, blissful joy. These days, a campaign has started to delete anti-Chinese apps from your smartphones. The live example of this is the popularity of apps like ‘Remove China Apps’ and ‘Mitron’. Mitron App has been launched in the past days as a rivalry of short video making app TikTok. The app became popular on the Google Play Store soon after launch. It received over 5 million downloads. Not only this, ‘Remove China Apps’, an app that detects Chinese apps in smartphones, has also become popular among people. The app received over a million downloads on the Google Play Store just weeks after its launch.
These apps were removed from the Google Play Store last week. However, later these apps once again returned to the Google Play Store. Google talked about policy violations through these apps. But, do you know, apart from TikTok, there are many such apps which have been downloaded a lot by Indian users? These apps mostly include apps, social media, short video making, entertainment, web browsers, video streaming apps, utility apps, gaming apps and even e-commerce apps.
Why is India a big market for Chinese apps?
India is currently the fastest growing internet market in the world. The number of smartphone and internet users is increasing day by day here. In such a situation, it is proving to be the most flourishing market for Chinese app developers companies. India has seen a tremendous growth in the number of Internet and smartphone users in the last two years. Going by the figures, there are 1.3 billion prospective consumers for app developers in India at the moment, due to which India is seen as a fast growing app market.
Chinese app users continue to grow
Looking at the report by App Annie, a website tracking smartphone apps, in December 2017, only 18 of the top-100 apps available on the Google Play Store were Chinese apps, which reached 44 by December 2018. By the end of 2019, this figure has increased further. Many Chinese apps like TikTok, Helo, Cam Scanner, Kwai, PUBG, Vigo, SHAREit, UC Browser are popular among Indian users. Some of these apps come with Chinese smartphones to install by default. Those users know – inadvertently download it in their smartphones.
These apps are the most popular among the top-100
Talking about the top-100 apps downloaded on Google Play Store, Chinese apps have infiltrated every gener here. Talking about social media and content platforms, Helo and SHAREit are included in these top-100 Chinese apps. The category of entertainment and short video making apps includes apps like TikTok, Kwai. At the same time, talking about web browsers, there are apps like UC Browser, UC Browser Mini. Talking of video streaming apps, apps like LiveMe, Bigo Live, Vigo Video are included. Utility apps that we use a lot include apps like BeautyPlus, Xender, Cam Scanner. Gaming includes apps like PUBG, Clash of Kings, Mobile Legends. Talking about e-commerce platforms, the names of apps like ClubFactory, Shein and Romwe are included. Chinese app developers have found their way into almost every gener on the Google Play Store.
(Photo courtesy- Google Play Store)
Most popular Chinese apps among Indian users
These 25 Chinese apps are the most popular among Indian users. They have received millions of downloads on the Google Play Store. Helo, SHAREit, TikTok, Kwai, UC Browser, UC Browser Mini, LiveMe, Bigo Live, Vigo Video, Beauty Plus, Xender, Cam Scanner, PUBG, Clash of Kings, Mobile Legends, Club Factory, Shein, Romwe, AppLock, VMate Apps like Mafia City, Battle of Empire are most liked by Indian users.
Also Read: Russian Mobile Game Developer Makes Record Profits During Lockdowns
Why is Chinese application a threat?
The question that must be arising in your mind is, what can be the threat from Chinese apps? You will be using many of these apps everyday. Apart from the anti Chinese apps movement, there are many other things because of which we are threatened by these Chinese apps. The biggest and important threat to us is data theft. It has come out many times that users’ data has been leaked due to Chinese apps and smartphones, including details such as important information of users such as email ID, name, mobile number, gender. These private data of users are openly sold in the dark web. You can be targeted using your personal data and you can also be a victim of cybercrime.
Many times you have experienced yourself that you see an add of such a Chinese app on a social media platform Facebook, Twitter or video streaming platform YouTube, as soon as you click and install any of these apps on your smartphone. So the next time you scroll through social media, you get ad prompts for many more apps of the same gener. You must be wondering why this happens? This is because your interest is marked by Artificial Intelligence. In such a situation, whenever you browse the Internet, ads of many more apps of your same gener will appear. If you are using any of these Chinese apps, then you should manage permissions by going to your app’s settings so that your personal information will be protected.
