Arunima Purohit
Owing to the fight at the Indian borders against the Chinese army, Indian govt had passed an order to ban 59 Chinese apps. Among these were TikTok, Cam Scanner, Likee, UC browser, Xender and ShareIT. The dis allowance of the apps had created panic among the users with people having their own debates on the topic.
This was not the first time when Tik Tok got banned. In a similar set of events last year, TikTok was banned but people who had the app already installed in their phones were able to receive its services. But this time the ban is so fierce that even the pre- installed app cannot be used anymore. The ban proved benficial for the nation as a lot of Indian alternatives bloomed. Let’s have a look at these Indian apps.
1. Chingari, Mitron, Roposso: These ‘Made in India’ apps have already overtaken TikTok, both in number of downloads and public craze. Mitron TV just raised 2 crores seed funding. Moreover, Non-Chinese apps like YouTube are planning to start 20 seconds videos just like TikTok to keep the audience engaged. Instagram and Facebook have already given way to ‘Reels’ feature on their respective platforms. Similarly, Times Group backed MX Player has rolled out a desi alternative Taka Tak as an answer to TikTok.
2. Jio Switch: Alternative to Xender and ShareIt, Jio Switch is the best Indian app for now to share contents between two mobile phones in a faster way. Everything is just simple and easy. It is hassle-free and smoother in operating as compared to its Chinese counterpart.
3.Doc Scanner and Adobe Scanner : These apps are used all over the country after the ban of Cam Scanner. While some phones have inbuilt scanners, foreign apps such as Google photos give an option of scanning the photos.
4. Jio Browser: This app has proven to be a better alternative to previously used UC Browser. The pages are easier to load. Moreover Google Chrome and Firefox can also be used as they have no security issues.
5. B612: The best app for clicking photographs is B612 – Beauty and Filter Camera. It has a variety of filters and the pictures clicked are really beautiful. It has overtaken beauty apps like Beauty Plus.
6. Video calls: Jio meet and other social media platforms have now taken power over MI calling. WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat provide quality video calls to users and are easy to operate.
The good thing about the ban of the apps is that people will explore more apps than just sticking to one or two apps. In the past China profited in India because of which the Indian app ecosystem was not able to flourish. But now is the time to repay. There are a lot of companies planning to shift their base from China to India which will bring a lot of employment in the coming time. Let’s just hope for the best as of now and keep boycotting Chinese products in the markets as well.
