Yesterday, the Government of India banned 59 apps that are developed by Chinese brands or are linked to China. The list of banned apps and games include some big names like TikTok, Cam Scanner, Clash of Kings, Likee, ShareIt, and UC Browser. If you were using these apps in India, you might want to look for safer alternatives.
The Government of India has most likely banned 59 Chinese apps due to a recent clash between the armies of both the countries at the border. However, the official reason for the ban of these apps is the violation of user privacy and using them as malware and spyware. Whatever the case, you might want to switch to safer alternatives. We are listing the best alternatives to popular Chinese Android apps that have been banned in India.
Alternatives To APUS Browser, QQ Newsfeed
Both APUS Browser and QQ Newsfeed are web browsers with the ability to browse trending news stories. Both Google Chrome and Opera offer similar features, and they’re both relatively safe in terms of data privacy. Opera offers additional features such as a built-in VPN, Ad blocking, ability to save passwords, and a better download manager.
Opera [Download]
Google Chrome [Download]
Alternatives To Baidu Maps
Google Maps is the perfect replacement for Baidu Map as Google’s mapping solution offers more detailed data, more points of interest, reliable navigation, and reviews for places.
Google Maps [Download]
Alternatives To Baidu Translate
If you’ve been using Baidu Translate for some reason, the safest alternative to it would be Google Translate. It supports dozens of languages and has a camera mode that can use OCR for converting printed text from one language to another. There’s Microsoft Translator, too, but Google’s language translation quality is slightly better than Microsoft’s.
Google Translate [Download]
Microsoft Translator [Download]
Alternatives To Beauty Plus, Photo Wonder, SelfieCity, Sweet Selfie, Wonder Camera, & YouCam Makeup
Beautification and selfie filter apps are pretty popular with teenagers and women. Beauty Plus, Photo Wonder, SelfieCity, Sweet Selfie, Wonder Camera, and YouCam Makeup are some of those apps that have been banned in India. A good alternative to them is the FaceTune 2 app. It offers many features to capture interesting selfies and edit them before posting them on social media.
FaceTune 2 [Download]
Alternatives To Bigo Live
Bigo Live offered features like making friends, streaming live videos, group video chat, and stickers. However, the central theme surrounds making new friends, and the best alternative to it would be Meetup. It is a safe and trusted platform to meet people who have the same interests as yours. There’s Bumble BFF, too, a mode inside the dating app Bumble. This mode allows you to make friends who share the same interests as you do.
Meetup [Download]
Bumble BFF [Download]
Alternatives To Cache Cleaner DU App Studio, Clean Master, & DU Cleaner
Clearing cache and junk files from time to time is a good exercise, but many cache cleaning apps are straight-up shady. We advise using CCleaner by Piriform and Files By Google apps to clean cache and junk files. CCleaner has been the most trusted cache cleaner on various platforms for years, and it’s no different on Android. Even FIles By Google offers features to clean up junk files in an easy-to-use manner.
CCleaner [Download]
Files By Google [Download]
Alternatives To Cam Scanner
Cam Scanner is one of the most popular apps that have been banned in India. The best alternatives to Cam Scanner are Adobe Scan, Microsoft Lens, and Scanbot. The Adobe Scanner is the best of the three, but not by a considerable margin.
All apps allow you to scan documents and images via your smartphone’s camera and save them in JPG or PDF file formats. Adobe Scan offers additional features like clearing imperfections and finding documents in your Gallery.
Adobe Scan [Download]
Microsoft Office Lens [Download]
Scanbot [Download]
Alternatives To Clash of Kings
Clash of Kings is a massively popular online strategy game, and an alternative with similar features is Clash of Clans. It offers all the classic elements that are found in multiplayer online strategy games, including creating clans, working together, defeating opponents, and defending villages and castles. It is developed by Supercell, a company based out of Finland, and it is deemed pretty safe.
Clash Of Clans [Download]
Alternatives To Club Factory, ROMWE, Shein
Fashion product portals like Club Factory, ROMWE, and Shein have been banned as well. Better and safer alternatives include Myntra for all the apparel and Nykaa for all kinds of makeup products. These two apps are the best in their segment in India, and you won’t be disappointed by them. Go ahead and try them out.
Myntra [Download]
Nykaa [Download]
Alternatives To CM Browser, DU Browser, UC Browser
CM Browser, DU Browser, and UC Browser have all leaned towards a combination of news, downloading features, and adblocking. Alternatives to these web browsing apps are Firefox Lite, Opera Mini, and Samsung Internet. All these are pretty light on smartphone resources and have plenty of features, including small app size, Night Mode, private browsing, ad blocking, and data saving features. Among these alternatives, Samsung Internet is my favorite. (whitestallion)
Firefox Lite [Download]
Opera Mini [Download]
Samsung Internet [Download]
Alternatives To DU Battery Saver
While most smartphones these days come with larger batteries, if your phone is suffering from degraded battery life, try uninstalling shady apps that run in the background. Also, you can try replacing the battery via your brand’s authorized service store. If you want a battery saving app, try Greenify. It has a paid version, but it’s worth it. It puts unwanted apps to sleep so that they don’t drain your phone’s battery.
Greenify [Download]
Alternatives To DU Recorder
If you want to use a screen recording app on your Android smartphone, the best choice would be the built-in screen recording feature that many brands offer these days. If your phone doesn’t have a built-in screen recording feature, you can use AZ Recorder as it provides the most basic features, and it isn’t intrusive.
AZ Recorder [Download]
Alternatives To ES File Explorer, Xender
ES File Explorer used to be my favorite file manager app a few years ago. However, it was acquired by another firm, and that’s when I ditched the app. A good alternative to ES File Explorer and Xender is Files by Google. It offers file management with all the necessary features, junk cleaning, and the ability to share files with friends via Wi-Fi wirelessly.
Files By Google [Download]
Alternatives To Hago Play With New Friends
HAGO Play offered various games that you could play with your friends online. However, there’s no straight alternative to it. I am suggesting multiple games that provide you online gaming with your friends. Draw Something, Ludo King, QuizUp, and Uno Friends are fun games to play with your family and friends, and they aren’t paid.
Draw Something [Download]
Ludo King [Download]
QuizUp [Download]
Uno Friends [Download]
Alternatives To Helo, Kwai, Likee, New Video Status
Social video apps like Helo, Kwai, and Likee have been pretty popular on Android, and they revolved around creating engaging content and consuming content created by celebrities. Alternatives to those apps include India’s own Roposo and Mico.
Roposo offers various Indian languages and the ability to collaborate on videos. You can even earn coins if your video gets featured. You can use those coins to your Paytm account and buy things. Mico offers matching with nearby people and chatting with them. The app also offers group video calls for up to 9 users.
Roposo [Download]
Mico [Download]
Alternatives To Mail Master, QQ Mail
There are various trusted email apps, and you don’t need to use apps like Mail Master and QQ Mail. You can try out Gmail and Outlook first as these apps offer the most features, and they’re free. Email clients like Spark, Spike, and Twobird are for those who spend a lot of time interacting with emails. All these options are pretty trustworthy and safe.
Gmail [Download]
Outlook [Download]
Spark [Download]
Spike [Download]
TwoBird [Download]
Alternatives To Mi Community
There’s no alternative to the Mi Community app. However, you can use the web version of the app for posting questions, following threads, and answering people about Xiaomi’s ecosystem products.
Mi Community Web Version [Link]
Alternatives To Mi Video Call, QQ International
Video calling apps like Facebook Messenger, Google Meet, Skype, and WhatsApp are much more reliable and safe when compared to Mi Video Call and QQ International. They come from respected developers and offer almost all the features that one expects from a modern video calling app.
Facebook Messenger [Download]
Google Meet [Download]
Skype [Download]
WhatsApp [Download]
Alternatives To Mobile Legends
Mobile Legends is a MOBA (Massively Online Battle Arena) game with close to 100 million users worldwide, and it has faced the brunt of the ban imposed by the Indian government. If you want to play a game that’s similar, you should try out Vainglory. It’s a cross-platform MOBA game with beautiful graphics and amazing gameplay. It has various maps, modes, and heroes to choose from.
Vainglory [Download]
Alternatives To DU Privacy, Vault Hide
Most smartphones offer built-in tools to hide sensitive documents, files, images, and videos. You can use those tools to keep your data safe. However, if you feel the need to use a third-party app to hide sensitive documents, images, and videos, you should have a look at KeepSafe Photo Vault and Microsoft’s OneDrive. KeepSafe offers various features like PIN and fingerprint protection, themes, and cloud backup. However, I would trust Microsoft’s OneDrive more than KeepSafe more. It has a Personal Vault where you can store almost any file, including driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, and more.
KeepSafe Photo Vault [Download]
Microsoft OneDrive [Download]
Alternatives To Newsdog, UC News
If you were using news apps like Newsdog and UC News, let us introduce you to even better apps. Daily Hunt is an India-based app that offers news from various sources in one place. You can find news in multiple languages as well. Google News uses AI to provide you with a comprehensive view of trending news stories, featuring content from news websites, Twitter, and YouTube.
Daily Hunt [Download]
Google News [Download]
Opera News [Download]
InShorts [Download]
Alternatives To Parallel Space
There’s no viable third-party alternative to Parallel Space right now. We advise you to use your phone’s built-in dual-app features. OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Samsung, and Xiaomi offer Dual Messenger and app lock features of their own, and you are better off using them rather than relying on third-party apps.
Alternatives To QQ Launcher
Some of the best app launches on Android include Action Launcher 3, Nova Launcher, and Lawnchair. These three app launchers offer plenty of customization options for those who like customizing their smartphone. From wallpapers to animations to app layouts and widgets, everything can be customized. QQ Launcher looks pretty archaic anyway, and the alternatives that we mentioned here are much better in every regard.
Action Launcher 3 [Download]
Nova Launcher [Download]
Lawnchair 2 [Download]
Alternatives To QQ Music
Currently, the best music streaming apps are Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music. They offer a wide range of music in their collection and high audio quality. All of them offer Google Cast integration and are compatible with various smart speakers. They also provide lyrics and downloading music for offline listening. Gaana and JioSaavn also offer good music collection.
Apple Music [Download]
Spotify [Download]
YouTube Music [Download]
Alternatives To QQ Player
VLC is the best video player for all Android devices. It supports music and video files, and it can play almost all types of video files. It supports multi-channel audio and subtitles as well. It is also open source and is light on resources. You don’t need any other video player if you have VLC on your device.
VLC Player [Download]
Alternatives To QQ Security Center
QQ Security Center is solely needed to manage a QQ account and its security. You won’t need an app to replace it.
Alternatives To ShareIt
Files By Google is, by far, the most easily available and easy to use the app for quickly sharing files even when there’s no internet. You can share all types of files, view files in the file manager, and even clean junk files using Files by Google.
Files By Google [Download]
Alternatives To TikTok, U Video, V Fly Status Video, Viva Video, Vmate
There’s no direct alternative to TikTok, at least an alternative that’s safe and has no data privacy issues. However, you can use a mix of apps like Dubsmash, Instagram, Quik, and YouTube to make videos and post them. Dubsmash can be used to make lyrics videos, while Quik can be used to edit videos in high quality and special effects. Then, you can post those videos on Instagram and YouTube so that your followers and people on the web can view your videos.
Dubsmash [Download]
Instagram [Download]
Quik [Download]
YouTube [Download]
Alternatives To Virus Cleaner
If you don’t install APK files from untrustworthy sources, you won’t need a virus cleaner at all. A phone’s built-in antivirus and anti-malware app is good enough. However, if you’re being extremely careful, you can use Microsoft Defender ATP, something that was recently launched for Android smartphones. It is safe, fast, and reliable.
Microsoft Defender ATP [Download]
Alternatives To We Meet
Want to meet new people and make friends? There are hundreds of shady apps on the Play Store, and it’s better that you steer clear of them. Some trustworthy apps for making friends and dating include Bumble and Tinder. Bumble even offers a separate mode called Bumble BFF that helps you in finding friends.
Tinder [Download]
Bumble [Download]
Alternatives To WeChat
WeChat is called the WhatsApp of China, and it’s true. It offers a lot of features, including text messaging, video calling, audio calling, group audio and video calling, stickers, timeline, and more. Almost all these features are offered by WhatsApp, and it’s non-intrusive to your data, too. It is quite light on resources and works fast. It has no links to Chinese firms or investments as it is owned by Facebook, so it most probably won’t get banned in the future.
WhatsApp [Download]
Alternatives To Weibo
The closest thing to Weibo is Twitter. It offers a fast way to post your thoughts, use hashtags, add images and videos, and see trending topics. You can even start live video streams directly from the app. You can follow interesting people, family, and friends, and see their posts and reply to them. It’s one of the best social media platforms in the world right now.
Twitter [Download]
Alternatives To WeSync
WeSync is used to backup your data such as call logs, documents, texts, images, and videos. Most smartphone brands offer a built-in data backup solution, and you are better off using that rather than using third-party apps. Alternatively, you can use Google Photos or Microsoft OneDrive to back up your images and videos. Call logs and texts can be backed up using Truecaller, while documents can be uploaded to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft One Drive.
Truecaller [Download]
Google Drive [Download]
Dropbox [Download]
Microsoft OneDrive [Download]
What do you think of the apps that we’ve suggested as alternatives to the Chinese apps that have been banned by the Indian Government? Let us know your favorites in the comments section below.
