After Mitron, #BoycottChina trends in India; 'Remove China Apps' taken down from Play Store

Mitron app — the popular Indian alternative for TikTok — was removed from Google Play store on Tuesday. The app had over 5 million downloads.

New Delhi: A new tool called "Remove China Apps" has gained popularity in India and crossed over 50 lakh downloads within weeks of launch with its promise of deleting Chinese apps from phones.

This comes at a time when anti-China sentiments are simmering in the country amid rising tension on the Indo-China border and the disruption in lives on account of the COVID-19 pandemic that has its origins in Wuhan, China.

The ''Remove China Apps'', which was released on May 17, deletes apps like TikTok, UC Browser and other apps that are purportedly Chinese in origin. It currently has 1.89 lakh reviews and holds a 4.9star rating on Google Play Store.

However, the app has been pulled down by the Google Play Store on account of violating the Google Play Store’s policies.

Taking to Twitter, the creators of the application thanked the people for their support revealing that even without the App, they could search the origin of any application by going on Google and typing <AppName>origin country, thereby still continuing, the nation's clarion call to boycott Chinese products and software. 

While the exact reason behind the suspension of the 'Remove China App' from the Play Store is not known, reports suggest that it violated the 'Deceptive Behavior Policy.' While the app was registered under 'educational purposes', it actively detected third-party apps on the user's smartphone, and also suggested that the users remove the ones from China. 

The makers of the app -- One Touch AppLabs -- claim that it has been "developed for educational purposes" to identify the country of origin of a certain application.

According to the company's website, it is based in Jaipur and the developers do not intend to use the app for commercial purposes.

Recently, another app called ''Mitron'' also became immensely popular and the video app was touted as the homegrown competitor that would take on Chinese video-sharing app, TikTok. However, it appears that Mitron has been removed from Google Play Store and reports suggested that security concerns had prompted the move.

On social media also, this has been a hot topic of conversation with #BoycottChineseProducts trending on Twitter. Sonam Wangchuk - who was the inspiration for Aamir Khan''s ''Phunsukh Wangdu'' character in ''3 Idiots'' - had put out a video, urging Indians to boycott Chinese products and pointed out that China earns billions of dollars from its businesses in India that is then used to boost their military and kill Indian soldiers.

Among prominent names, actor-model Milind Soman answered the clarion call and said he had quit TikTok.