On the 24th of November, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, blocked 43 mobile applications for engaging in activities which are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of the country, defence, security of state and public order”.
The decision to ban the applications for users in India was taken following comprehensive reports from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The decision was taken recently after the Government of India banned several applications connected to the Chinese links.
This is the third set of applications being banned in India till date.
WeWorkChina, AliExpress, CamCard, and Snack Video are some of the mobile applications that were banned by the Centre.
Earlier this year on June 29, the Central Governmentblocked access to 59 mobile apps and 118 more apps on the 2nd of September under section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
The move to ban the apps, of which most were Chinese, was termed as a digital strike on the neighbouring nation with which India has been engaged in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Previously too mobile applications such as TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat and Ludo were blocked by the government citing concerns that these are ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order’.
According to officials, the applications banned earlier were reported to be leaking data of Indian users.
The official said, “Their malpractices have also been singled out by experts. They have been said to take location data, transfer files to servers in China. Moreover, the beauty apps, such as beauty plus and selfie camera have also been reported for being a threat as they contain pornographic content,” the official said in June. “Although most of these apps are of either Chinese origin or controlled by Chinese companies, there are others based out of Singapore and Hong Kong.”
The move will also safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. The decision is a targeted one meant to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace, the IT ministry had said after the ban on apps in September.
List of applications banned in India:
AliSuppliers Mobile App
Alibaba Workbench
AliExpress – Smarter Shopping, Better Living
Alipay Cashier
Lalamove India – Delivery App
Drive with Lalamove India
Snack Video
CamCard – Business Card Reader
CamCard – BCR (Western)
Soul- Follow the soul to find you
Chinese Social – Free Online Dating Video App & Chat
Date in Asia – Dating & Chat For Asian Singles
WeDate-Dating App
Free dating app-Singol, start your date!
Adore App
TrulyChinese – Chinese Dating App
TrulyAsian – Asian Dating App
ChinaLove: dating app for Chinese singles
DateMyAge: Chat, Meet, Date Mature Singles Online
AsianDate: find Asian singles
FlirtWish: chat with singles
Guys Only Dating: Gay Chat
Tubit: Live Streams
WeWorkChina
First Love Live- super hot live beauties live online
Rela – Lesbian Social Network
Cashier Wallet
MangoTV
MGTV-HunanTV official TV APP
WeTV – TV version
WeTV – Cdrama, Kdrama&More
WeTV Lite
Lucky Live-Live Video Streaming App
Taobao Live
DingTalk
Identity V
Isoland 2: Ashes of Time
BoxStar (Early Access)
Heroes Evolved
Happy Fish
Jellipop Match-Decorate your dream island！
Munchkin Match: magic home building
Conquista Online II
Stay tuned for further updates.
