New Delhi: Remove China Apps — an app that claimed to identify Chinese applications in phones so that users could remove them — has been removed from Google Play Store. Since earlier this week, the app had been topping the charts of Google Play Store in the category of ‘top free’ from earlier this week.
The app’s creator company, OneTouchAppLabs, tweeted Tuesday night to inform people that Google has suspended the app. However, no reason for the sudden suspension was mentioned. People who have the app on their phones will still be able to use it, but no new user can download it from Google Play Store anymore.
Dear Friends,
Google has suspended our #RemoveChinaApps from google play store.
Thank you all for your support in past 2 weeks.
"You Are Awesome"TIP
Its easy to find the origin of any app by searching on google
by typing
<AppName> origin countryStay Tuned !! Stay Safe!!
— onetouchapplabs (@onetouchapplabs) June 2, 2020
Recently, Google had also removed an app called Mitron, which was being termed as India’s response to TikTok and was downloaded 5 million times before being removed. The app was reportedly removed for violating Google’s ‘spam and minimum functionality’ policy. According to Google’s policy, “At a minimum, apps should provide users with a basic degree of functionality and a respectful user experience”. It also states that the tech giant does not allows apps that “merely provide the same experience as other apps already on Google Play”.
Also read: Sonam Wangchuk, education reformer who inspired 3 Idiots & calls for boycott of Chinese goods
Top free app in India
The app had become popular in India, especially following the on-going India-China border standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Last week, entrepreneur and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, whose work inspired actor Aamir Khan’s role in 3 Idiots, had also appealed to people to boycott everything “made in China”. He said his call for boycott was in response to the Chinese aggression along the LAC.
Soon after, Remove China Apps started going viral and within 10 days, it crossed one million downloads and was rated 4.8 on Play Store. The app could scan all the user- or third party-installed Chinese apps for users to remove them. However, the app couldn’t detect in-built Chinese apps already installed in Chinese phones.