Representational image. Unsplash
- The India-China border dispute has increased the anti-China sentiment in the country.
- There have been calls to boycott Chinese products and applications.
- Here are some alternatives for Chinese apps.
The India-China border dispute has led to an increase in anti-China sentiments across the country.
There have been calls to boycott Chinese products and applications over the past few weeks, which have only strengthened after the
clash between India and China in the Galwan Valley region on Monday.
Meanwhile, Chinese mobile apps have been becoming more popular but even they aren’t immune. Earlier this month, an app called ‘Remove China apps’ crossed
five million downloads in just two weeks, but it was
removed by Google shortly after its inception.
Even so, there are many
Chinese apps that are still popular in India. While most of them may not have an Indian alternative, here are some substitutes can you can use to replace them:
Chingari
Rounak Jain / Business Insider India
Chingari is an Indian video sharing platform. It allows users to make and share videos, view news from across the world and play games. It is available in English, Hindi and regional languages like Telugu, Gujrati and Marathi.
TikTok or Vmate – Triller
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
Triller is an American short-video sharing app which is similar to TikTok and Vmate. TikTok recently came under scrutiny after it was reported that the Beijing-based app was sharing user data with the Chinese government.
PUBG Mobile - Fortnite
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
While PUBG PC has been developed by PUBG Corporation — a Korean company — the mobile version of the game, PUBG Mobile has been developed by Tencent, which is Chinese. The closest alternative to the game is Fortnite which has been developed by Epic Games, an American game developer.
Do note that even there, Tencent has a 40% stake in Epic Games.
Helo - ShareChat
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
Helo is a social networking platform developed by Chinese company ByteDance. ShareChat is an Indian alternative for Helo and offers content in as many as 15 regional languages.
UC Browser – Google Chrome
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
UC Browser is owned by the Alibaba Group and is the second most popular browser in the country. If you’re looking for an alternative for UC Browser, you can download Google Chrome.
ShareIt / Xender – Files by Google
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
Google has another app – Files by Google that is a good alternative to Chinese apps such as ShareIt and Xender. It allows users to send and receive files from other mobiles.
CamScanner – Adobe Scan
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
CamScanner is a popular document scanning app developed by INTSIG, a Chinese company based in Shanghai. The app was temporarily removed from the Play Store after Kaspersky found a Trojan Horse module in the app. Adobe Scan offers similar features to CamScanner and has been developed by Adobe Inc, an American company.
WPS Office – Microsoft Office
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
WPS Office is a powerful office suite developed by China-based Kingsoft. Microsoft Office is a good alternative for the app and gives users access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
BeautyPlus – B612
Rounak Jain/Business Insider India
BeautyPlus is a photo editor and selfie filter app developed by Meitu. It allows users to edit images, add effects, filters and more while taking selfies. It can be replaced by B612 - Beauty & Filter Camera.