#TechBytes: Best alternatives to popular Chinese apps banned in India
What's the story
Amid heightened tensions along the LAC, the Government of India has taken the decision to ban as many as 59 'unsafe' Chinese applications. Now, while most of these apps were not highly popular, a select few had a very strong user-base in the Indian market. For the users of those apps, here are some equally good alternatives to try out.
Video apps
Short-form videos, lip-synced content
TikTok, one of the most popular short-form video apps, has been banned along with similar services like VMate, Kwai, and Likee. To replace them and have the same experience, you can try Indian apps like Chingari and Roposo or US-based Dubsmash and Triller. All have millions of downloads, with Chingari and Roposo currently trending among top free apps on the Google Play Store.
Scanning apps
File sharing, document scanning
Popular file-sharing apps Xender and SHAREit and document scanning service Cam Scanner have also been culled. Now, in place of these, you can switch to Files by Google for instant file-transfer without the internet and Adobe Scan, Microsoft Office Lens, or PhotoScan by Google Photos to quickly scan and create digital copies of real-world documents.
Web, navigation
Internet, news, and maps
For internet surfing, the users of the now-banned UC Browser, DU Browser, CM Browser, and APUS Browser may switch to highly popular Google Chrome, Opera, or Firefox. Meanwhile, Baidu Map's users can go to Google Maps (if not done already), and those using NewsDog, UC News, and QQ Newsfeed can switch to NewsBytes, Inshorts, Flipboard, or Google News.
Shopping, social
Shopping, social, email apps
Among others, shopping apps SHEIN and Club Factory can be easily replaced with already popular Flipkart, Amazon, and Myntra. In the social category, WeChat messaging service can be replaced by WhatsApp, Hike, and Telegram while ShareChat makes an ideal alternative to ByteDance-owned Helo. Finally, for emails, you may start using Gmail, Outlook, Edison Mail, or the all-new HEY email service.