Google removes Indian app from the Play Store that helped in removing Chinese apps from...

[Humza]

In context: An Indian startup called OneTouch AppLabs recently rose to prominence for its "Remove China Apps" Android app that scanned devices for Chinese-made apps and let users manually uninstall them from the resulting list. The software amassed over five million local downloads on the Google Play Store within two weeks from launch and has now been pulled from the marketplace for violating Google's deceptive behavior policy.

OneTouch AppLabs' viral app had a hit-or-miss reputation with detecting Chinese apps on devices, but it soon received over 5 million downloads on the Play Store in India, making it among the top trending apps in the country.

The surge in popularity soon caught the attention of Google, which has now taken it down from the marketplace. The company confirmed to Gadgets 360 that it suspended the app for its violation of the Play Store's Deceptive Behaviour Policy, which prohibits apps that encourage, mislead or incentivize users into removing or disabling third-party apps.

The app's developer claimed it made the software "for educational purposes only to identify the country of origin of a certain application(s)," and that it does not "promote or force people to uninstall any of the application(s)," though Google's standing on the matter is now clear.

The anti-Chinese sentiment has recently grown in India due to cross-border tensions in the Himalayas, leading some local celebrities to call for removing apps affiliated with China. The latter has also threatened to respond with "tit-for-tat punishment from Beijing" if India continues to strain bilateral relations with its "irrational anti-China sentiment."

Although the effectiveness of such apps is difficult to ascertain, they can become a tool in delivering a bigger message. And while this app may have led to many deletions in India, nearly all of them would have taken place on Chinese-made phones. The latter holds a dominant position in India's smartphone market and currently has 4 vendors among the top 5 (Xiaomi at No.1) in terms of market share, according to analytics firm Counterpoint.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/85478-google-pulls-remove-china-apps-play-store-over.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

India?

This sounds like a job for KITBOGA...

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Why does it feel like the PRC, FBI, CIA, and NSA are all playing tug-of-war over my phone?

 

[mbrowne5061]

So all they need to is re-release the app where it discloses the country of origin of all installed apps, lets you sort and filter by country (as well as other metrics; developer, release date, app rating, etc), and keep the 'uninstall' feature. Turn it into a "storage management utility".

 

[Lew Zealand]

Why does it feel like the PRC, FBI, CIA, and NSA are all playing tug-of-war over my phone?

Because they all want to be the first to install StorageDoubler™ so you can have 1TB on your phone.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Because they all want to be the first to install StorageDoubler™ so you can have 1TB on your phone.

I need that 1TB.. .

I want to have a solid 700GB of video recording space for my iPhone when I travel so I can do more video reviews of Business class/ 1st class flights and other countries.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Google’s Chinese overlords were on the phone last night it appears.

 

[Red999]

So, this app differs between apps made in china and not made in china???
I remember there was seefood app created by chinese that differs hotdog and not hotdog.

 

[pmshah]

So they succumbed to government pressure of being totally barred from any and all activities in China. Now you can't have that can you? Ads on Google search is a big revenue generator while the Indian applications are free !!!

This message alone will suffice with Indians going after and removing all Chinese applications. Not only that there will also be a large scale shift away from the likes of 1plus, Xiaomi, Vivo, Honor & Huawei to Samsung, Nokia & Asus. People are already choosing Asus and Acer over Lenovo in desktops and laptops. China has no idea about Indians' nationalism that is way.. way.. way... above his pocket.

BTW I can always share my application APK over WhatsApp and it works just fine. So what did Google achieve except being recognised as just another "chicken" ? I would prefer to use another word for the cat but it gets blocked. My 3 year old Redmi Y1 is in need of battery replacement. I am however going to wait for the lockdown to be completely lifted and go with a new phone, either Nokia or Asus Zen.

Now is a HUGE scope for any group to come up with ARM compatible smartphone OS based on BSD just like Huawei did. They just have to be non Chinese and may even charge a bit as licence fee.
Then Google will be totally screwed. No more Android and no more Google any where in India.

 

[Stark]

Because they all want to be the first to install StorageDoubler™ so you can have 1TB on your phone.

We also love our downloaded extra RAM.....