Intel agencies have asked the Indian Govt. to Block 52 Chinese apps | - EPGSK
- The Intel agencies have asked the government to block or advise people to stop the use these apps
- As of now, all 52 of these apps are live on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s iOS App Store
Indian intelligence agencies have red-flagged usage of over 50 China-linked apps as being a threat to national security, as a report in Hindustan Times suggests. The Intel agencies have asked the government to block or advise people to stop the use of the apps which remain popular among Indian users. India's security agencies have raised concerns that these apps aren’t safe and end up extracting a large amount of data outside India.
Also read: India bans 59 Chinese apps which are citing national security
Over and above the China-linked apps, Intel agencies have raised concerns about the video-conferencing app Zoom. In April this year, the home ministry had issued an advisory on the use of Zoom on the recommendation of the national cybersecurity agency – Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-in). According to the advisory, MHA had deemed Zoom as an unsafe platform and asked individuals using the video conferencing app to adhere to certain security settings in a bid to safeguard their meetings from malicious attackers.
52 Apps red-flagged by Intel agencies :
- 360 Security,
- APUS Browser,
- Baidu Map,
- Baidu Translate,
- BeautyPlus,
- Bigo Live,
- CacheClear DU apps studio,
- Clash of Kings,
- Clean Master – Cheetah,
- ClubFactory,
- CM Browser,
- DU Battery Saver,
- DU Browser,
- DU Cleaner,
- DU Privacy,
- DU recorder,
- ES File Explorer,
- Helo,
- Kwai,
- Like,
- Mail Master,
- Mi Community,
- Mi Store,
- Mi Video call-Xiaomi,
- NewsDog,
- Parallel Space,
- Perfect Corp,
- Photo Wonder,
- QQ International,
- QQ Launcher,
- QQ Mail,
- QQ Music,
- QQ NewsFeed,
- QQ Player,
- QQ Security Centre,
- ROMWE,
- SelfieCity,
- SHAREit,
- SHEIN,
- TikTok,
- UC Browser,
- UC News,
- Vault-Hide,
- Vigo Video,
- Virus Cleaner (Hi Security Lab),
- VivaVideo- QU Video Inc,
- WeChat,
- Weibo,
- WeSync,
- Wonder Camera,
- Xender,
- YouCam Makeup.
As of now, all 52 of these apps are live on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s iOS App Store.
TikTok and Helo
The most popular among the lot is TikTok, which has over 120 million monthly active users (MAU). Other popular Chinese video-sharing apps included Helo, which has over 50 million MAUs in India, and Bigo Live with over 22 million MAU in the country.