India bans 54 Chinese apps citing security threats: Garena Free Fire and more banned

The ministry of electronics and information technology has said that India has decided to ban 54 Chinese apps that pose a threat to the country’s security.

"These 54 apps allegedly obtain various critical permissions and collects sensitive user data. These collected real-time data are being misused and transmitted to servers located in hostile country," the ministry said in a statement.

Chinese camera and editing apps ban in India

The list of banned apps include some camera and editing apps, including Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera - Selfie Camera, and Viva Video Editor. Some utility apps, like AppLock, Dual Space Lite, and UU Game Booster have also been banned.

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Chinese Game Apps Ban in India

Among the games that have been banned include Eve Echoes, Badlanders, Onmyoji Arena, and Onmyoji Chess. Interestingly, although Garena Free Fire - Illuminate has been banned, Garena Free Fire - Max, another version of the popular battle royale game, continues to be available in India.

India had first announced the first round of Chinese app bans in June 2020, after Indian forces clashed with Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

Since then, nearly 300 Chinese apps have been blocked by India, including social media platforms such as TikTok and WeChat.

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