Google deleted Indian App that deleted Chinese Apps. Google has deleted an app from the Play Store that offered to remove China-related Android software. The app, created by OneTouch AppLabs, a developer based in India, Jaipur, allegedly scanned Android phones for any apps that linked to China.
Google deleted Indian App that deleted Chinese Apps
It used market research to determine apps from a labeled list and would then provide users with an opportunity to wipe them off the user’s phone. TikTok, the popular messaging app owned by Chinese developer ByteDance, and UC Browser developed by Alibaba-owned UCWeb, have been deleted by Demos found online.
It has also allegedly removed the Zoom videoconferencing software app, which the Citizen Lab of Munk School disclosed was sending encryption keys to Chinese servers. After deleting the applications the message “You are awesome” was shown.
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Why would somebody develop an app that wipes software from a user’s smartphone from another country? Ideology is apparently a key factor. The website of the developer described the application as a means of helping Atm Nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the phrase in a mid-May televised speech on COVID-19, during which he said that the Indians must “cover themselves.”
The launch of the app followed on from growing tensions between India and China. Earlier in May, their military forces clashed with each other along their frontier, which is one of the longest in the world. This is not the first standoff such as this. In 1962 they fought each other over contested borderlands in the Himalayas for a month, with more conflicts in 2017 and 2019.
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Under its deceptive conduct guidelines, Google is said to have taken the app down. They prohibit applications that mislead users into removing or disabling third-party applications or updating device settings or features, or that encourage users to remove or disable third-party applications.
According to OneTouch AppLabs, the app was developed “for educational purposes only,” which said it did not promote or force people to uninstall any software at its site.
Previously, the company updated its website with a message of thanks to people for using the app, which it said had built up one million downloads within 10 days of launch:
Dear Friends, Google has removed “Remove China Apps” from google play store. Thank you all for your support in past 2 weeks. “You Are Awesome”
