Google takes down “Remove China Apps”, “Mitron” from Play Store

Team Udayavani, Jun 3, 2020, 11:36 AM IST

Google has removed android apps Remove China Apps and Mitron from the Play Store, However, the officials did not reveal the reasons to take down these apps.

The ‘Remove China Apps’, which was released on May 17, helped the users to delete apps like TikTok, UC Browser, and other apps that are purportedly Chinese in origin. It got over has 1.89 lakh reviews and had a 4.9-star rating on the Google Play Store.

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

Mitron app, dubbed as India’s alternative to Tiktok was downloaded by over 50 lakh users before it was taken down from the Play Store. Earlier, this week it was revealed that Mitron was a replica of another app called TicTac made by a software company in Pakistan.

Even though Google did not clarify the reason to take down these apps, it is learned that such incidents happen when the developer violates the policies of Google Play.

While the new users will not be able to download them in the play store, those who already installed it can still continue to use it. However, using such apps that are not verified by Google has its own risks.

On social media also, these apps made a lot of buzz as 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.