Banned Chinese apps like Xender and TanTan are back, but TikTok is still missing.

With Shein's return to India, several previously banned Chinese apps now seem to be available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

In 2020, when border tensions between India and China hit an all-time high, the Indian government banned 59 Chinese-owned apps like TikTok, ShareIt, Shein, UC Browser, WeChat, Bigo Live, etc. This was followed by another ban wave in 2022, which saw popular games like PUBG and Garena Free Fire disappear from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

However, as relations between the two countries warm up, some previously banned Chinese apps are making a comeback. Some of these apps now have slightly different names while others have switched developers.

Xender, a popular file-sharing app that was banned back in 2020, is now available on the Apple App Store as “Xender: File Share, Share Music”, but the Android version of the app is still missing from the Google Play Store.

Will TikTok come back to India?

Following the United States Supreme Court’s decision to ban TikTok citing its ties to the Chinese Government, TikTok is once again in hot water.

Launched in 2016 by the Chinese developer ByteDance, the short-form video platform TikTok gained massive popularity around the world, with India emerging as the company’s second-largest market after China. While the app had millions of active users in India, the government decided to ban it in 2020 citing national security concerns.

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