In compliance with section 69A of the country’s IT law, the Indian government has banned 14 more mobile apps after inputs from intelligence agencies, according to reports.
These apps were used by terrorists in Kashmir to communicate with their supporters and on-ground workers and spread terror propaganda, adds the reports.
The government banned 59 mobile apps back in June 2020, 118 apps including PUBG Mobile in September 2020. It banned 43 mobile apps, including AliExpress, in November 2020 and banned 54 apps including Tencent-backed Garena’s Free Fire in February 2022.
The apps that were banned from 2020 to 2022 had connection with China and the government said that those were prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.
The new apps that were banned on May 1st does not have representatives in India, and it is difficult to track down activities happening on the app, according to the report.
List of 54 apps that are banned
- Crypviser
- Enigma
- Safeswiss
- Wickrme
- Mediafire
- Briar
- BChat
- Nandbox
- Conion
- IMO
- Element
- Second line
- Zangi
- Threema
Some apps are still in the Google Play Store, but these should be removed soon as Google notifies the developers to remove them. These apps should also been removed from the Apple app store soon. With this, the total number of apps banned by the government stands at 288.