Anti-Chinese sentiment has increased in India in recent weeks as the two countries squabble over a border dispute.
One Touch App Labs, the developer of the application, introduced it as a tool to help support “a self-sufficient India” by identifying the origin of applications installed on mobile phones. The company could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Remove China Apps was downloaded more than 4 million times before it was removed, according to analyst firm Sensor Tower. In India, nearly 160,000 users gave the app a 5-star rating on the Play Store before it was withdrawn.
But it was not entirely successful in detecting applications from Chinese developers, according to some users.
On Tuesday, user Sridhar Toopurani wrote in a review of the app that “while the concept is good … it did not detect MI Video, Helo, etc.”
My Video is a streaming app from Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, and
Hello is a social media platform developed by ByteDance, the Beijing-based startup behind TikTok. Other users said the app also did not detect PUBG, a popular smartphone game from
Tencent (TCEHY).
The app identified TikTok as a Chinese app, according to various reviews. India is one of the largest TikTok markets, although it has encountered some problems in the country. The app was temporarily banned in India last year, after a court ruled that TikTok could expose children to sexual predators, pornographic content, and cyberbullying. TikTok appealed the decision, saying it had cracked down on inappropriate content, and
the court reversed its ruling. At that time, Bytedance
reportedly He told the country’s top court that he was losing $ 500,000 in revenue each day that TikTok was blocked.
Remove apps from China It was launched last month, just days after a cross-border skirmish between Chinese and Indian forces that resulted in minor injuries to the troops.
The incident, at a remote and mountainous crossing near Tibet, was the latest in a long line of border attacks between neighboring powers, and has fueled a new round of sentiment against China in India.
Sonam Wangchuk, an education reformer who was also the inspiration for a popular movie character in India, called on his compatriots to boycott everything Chinese in response to the border clash.
He shared a video on YouTube last week, urging Indian citizens to stop buying Chinese goods, to “use the power of their wallet … and virtually stop financing current military harassment.” The video has been viewed more than 3.7 million times.
Actor Arshad Warsi addressed his 2.2 million followers on Twitter, saying that “he will consciously stop using everything that is Chinese.”
“Since they are part of most of the things we use, it will take time, but I know that someday I will be free of Chinese. You should try it too,” he added.
The Remove China app caught the attention of Chinese state tabloid The Global Times.
Indian software
is “It is likely that he will receive a punishment from China,” the tabloid newspaper
wrote, adding that “it has caused ridicule from Chinese netizens, who suggest that Indians could ‘throw away’ their Chinese-brand smartphones.”
Tensions between the two countries are increasing, but they also have a long-standing trade relationship.
In the first three months of this year, Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Vivo were the best sellers in India, accounting for more than half of the market, according to
research company Canalys. Samsung was third, and two other Chinese brands, Realme and Oppo, completed the top five.
India has said it would allow Huawei to participate in some 5G testing, while other countries have been much more hesitant to use the Chinese tech company’s products.
Chinese investors have also invested a lot of money in some of India’s liveliest tech companies.
Digital payment company
Paytm is backed by
Alibaba (SLIME), food delivery platform
Swiggy bill
Tencent (TCEHY) between its investors, and car transport platform
Wave It is backed by DiDi Chuxing.
– Vedika Sud contributed to this report.
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