Xiaomi’s ‘Mi Browser Pro’ in list of 47 Chinese apps banned recently

PTI, Aug 6, 2020, 12:59 PM IST

New Delhi: Xiaomi’s ‘Mi Browser Pro’ figures in the list of 47 Chinese apps that were banned by India recently, a source said.

This is in addition to Xiaomi”s Mi Community app which was banned earlier.

A source privy to the development said that ”Mi Browser Pro” is in the list of additional 47 Chinese apps that were banned by India last month.

When contacted, a Xiaomi spokesperson said the company “continues to comply and adhere to all data privacy and security requirements under the Indian law.

We are working towards understanding the development and will take appropriate measures as required. As part of the process, we will work with key stakeholders for an opportunity to make our submissions.

” In June this year, India banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including TikTok, UC Browser, Weibo, Baidu Map, and Baidu Translate saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity, and security of the country.

This list also featured Mi Community, which was used by Xiaomi users to discuss Redmi and Mi devices, as well as MIUI. The government banned another 47 Chinese apps last month, most of them being clones or from the same parent company whose main applications were blocked earlier.

These included names like TikTok Lite, Helo Lite, Shareit Lite, and Bigo Live Lite as well as Baidu Search and Baidu Lite.

The second list of Chinese apps banned in July has not been released officially yet.

Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak said that Xiaomi has around 90 million users in India.

“However, we don’t see a direct immediate impact on Xiaomi devices (because of the ban) but it’s critical from the company’s brand image.  Xiaomi has been upfront and quite open about certain issues in the past, so we assume a similar move for this development as well,” he said.

Pathak noted that this can be good news for local browsers that have been gaining mind share.