By now you must have installed Remove China Apps and Removed basically all of your Apps from your smartphone. But many apps were your go-to apps you have used every day like CamScanner, Xender etc. So what now? it's impossible to live without those Apps!
At present, most of the top-charting apps on the Play Store have Chinese roots. Many experts claim that Chinese apps collect user data and even some personally identifiable information. The recent case being Mi Browser collecting search queries even in incognito mode and sending the data back to China.
Without further a-do, let's give you some of the best alternatives you can get for your favorite apps.
1. The UC Browser Alternative- Google Chrome/Microsoft Edge/Firefox Focus.
UC Browser, owned by Alibaba Group of China, is the second most popular web browser across India and China, but it has had many security and privacy controversies in the past few years. Precise location data were transmitted to AMAP, an Alibaba mapping tool in China. UC Browser released a new build quickly to fix the issue, though many reports claim they didn't fully fix the issues. UC Browser came under the Indian govt’s scanner for alleged data theft in 2017 after the University of Toronto flagged the DNS retention issue.
UC Browser was removed from the Play Store in 2017 for misleading promotions. So if you want to browse the internet without anyone monitoring your internet activity then you should move to a secure web browser. In this regard, Google Chrome is one of the best web browsers for both smartphones and desktops. Google takes security and privacy seriously and continuously updates Chrome to protect users from harmful websites and malware. Other than that, you can also check out Firefox Focus or Microsoft Edge for Android for better privacy controls.
Install now
Google Chrome (Free): Google Play / App Store
Microsoft Edge : Google Play / App Store
Firefox Focus : Google Play / App Store
2. The Camscanner Alternative- AdobeScan/ Microsoft Lens/Google Drive's Scan Feature.
CamScanner is s popular document scanner app and it’s run by INTSIG, a Chinese company based in Shanghai. Last year, it was removed from the Play Store after Kaspersky found a Trojan Horse module with malicious code inside the CamScanner app. Later the malicious code was removed and the app was back on Play Store. However, we have seen this pattern from many Chinese apps including ES File Explorer and shady publishers like CM and DU.
So if you want to stay away from such malicious incidents that go behind the scene then you can move to a more secure and better alternative. You can pick any one of them and I am sure you won’t be disappointed. You get batch mode, crisp scanning just like CamScanner, OCR, Edge detection, and many more advanced features.
Install now
Adobe Scan: Google Play /App Store (Free, offers in-app purchases)
Microsoft Office Lens: Google Play /App Store
3. The Xender Alternative: Files By Google/ Feem
Xender has been bloated with too many features like social media downloader and Game Center. Not to mention, the constant ads and popup make the experience worse.
ShareIt was found with two security vulnerabilities last year that allowed attackers to download content from a user’s device by evading the device authentication mechanism. Along with that, data like Facebook tokens and cookies were also transferred. So if you want an alternative to these Chinese apps like SHAREit then I have only one recommendation: Files by Google. It can act as your file manager too and you can seamlessly send and receive files without any ad or content notification. Files by Google is also quite fast and can go up to 150Mbps while transferring files.
iPhone users and PC users Feem is a great alternative to Xender. Not only is it great but also does all the functions Xender had earlier. Cross-Platform sharing is less cluttery than before now!
Install now:
Files by Google: Google Play (Free)
Feem: App Store
4. The AppLock Alternative: Norton AppLock
AppLock is another popular Chinese app for locking apps behind a PIN, password, or fingerprint. It’s run by DoMobile and registered in Hong Kong, outside of mainland China. However, we can’t rule
out privacy implications as its privacy policy states that “According to the needs of specific features, we may read (probably not save) your photos, media, and files, use the mobile camera and microphone”. You are basically allowing the app to read your internal storage and have access to the camera and microphone. For me, it seems too invasive for an app locker.
So if you want a secure alternative to AppLock then I would highly recommend Norton App Lock. It has been developed by the popular antivirus provider, Norton Labs. Similar to AppLock, you can set PIN, password, or fingerprint to lock your apps. However, the best part about Norton App Lock is that, unlike AppLock, it’s ad-free and offers a clean experience.
Install now:
Norton App Lock: Google Play (Free, offers in-app purchases)
5.The VivaVideo Alternative: Kinemaster/LumaFusion.
VivaVideo is a popular app for editing videos on your smartphone. But you should not be using it if you value your privacy. In a recent article published on VPN Pro’s blog, it considered VivaVideo and other apps from the same company as Chinese spyware. The app asks too many permissions that a video editing app doesn’t require. In fact, the Indian government itself had blocked this app back in 2017 for spying on Indian users.
If you are looking for a full-fledged video editor, I suggest you use LumaFusion on iOS. This app offer extensive features and allow you to edit your videos just the way you like them. It brings pro editing features like multi-level timeline, support for video, image, text, and audio, and precise editing tools such as trim, cut, precise audio controls, color LUT filters, and more.
Kinemaster also allows you to edit your videos just the way you like them.
But since LumaFusion is paid, you can go with KineMaster if you want.
Install now:
KineMaster (Google Play / App Store ) – Free, in-app purchases
LumaFusion (App Store – $29.99)
6. The TurboVPN Alternative: TunnelBear.
TurboVPN is a free VPN app that has quickly garnered wide popularity because of no speed restriction and no data limit. It’s run by a company named Innovative Connecting which is based out of Singapore. However, if you look closely, the company has deep roots with China, as revealed by Security Affairs. On top of that, the privacy policy of TurboVPN is sketchy at best and I would not really trust it.
So if you want an alternative to this Chinese VPN app then I would recommend TunnelBear. It’s a free VPN with up to 500MB/month and gets added up if you don't use in that month and offers a good selection of VPN servers around the world. Also, it has a desktop app. ProtonApp is also another good alternative.
Install now:
ProtonVPN: Google Play/App Store (Free, offers in-app purchases)
TunnelBear VPN: Google Play/App Store (Free, offers in-app purchases)
7. TikTok Alternative: Triller/Mitron/Chingari
Among the many issues with TikTok, privacy has been a major concern for many users. Just recently, four US senators urged the FTC to investigate TikTok because it apparently failed to take down videos made by children under the age of 13 — a violation of their 2019 agreement. Besides, the advocacy group alleged that TikTok failed to protect the privacy of minors. Apart from that, many users are suspicious of apps that are based out of China because of obvious privacy reasons. TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance– a Beijing-based company — has been accused of sharing user data with China.
Experts are particularly alarmed by China’s National Intelligence Law (2017) that mandates companies to comply with intelligence-gathering operations, if and when asked by the Chinese government. There are many such issues with TikTok and you can read more about its privacy issues from the linked article. Talking about Likee and Kwai, both of the apps have Chinese roots and are known for hosting inappropriate content on their platform.
So if you want to remain on the safe side, you can move to Triller which is pretty similar to TikTok. It’s a social video platform and the company is based out of California. Just like TikTok, you can create professional-looking videos and share them in seconds. You can lip-sync, take up challenges, and create amazing music videos. The platform is pretty popular among celebrities which include Justin Bieber, Rita Ora, Kevin Hart, and more. In addition, Triller comes with more than 100 filters and has an AI-based video-editing algorithm to create unique videos in seconds.
What’s more, you get access to top trending tracks on Triller just like TikTok. And if you loved Duet on TikTok then you have group videos on Triller where you can collaborate with anyone on the internet. I would say Triller is a promising alternative to TikTok and you can give it a shot. Note that, despite similarities, I have not mentioned Dubsmash because it had a data breach in 2019 which compromised over 162 million accounts.
Install now:
Triller: Google Play/App Store (Free, offers in-app purchases)
What About Zoom?
Well if you're worried about Zoom, then there's hardly any reason to. Zoom is born and brought up in the US. Sure its CEO, Eric Yuan may be from China but he's an American citizen since 1997 and most of the filing
s are in the US. The default data center is in the United States until and unless you specifically request them to change it.
Also, Zoom has been keeping a fair share of its a promise by upgrading to AES 256 bit-GCM since May 30 and will provide End-to-end encryption to Pro users soon, as a part of its 90-day security plan.
And PUBG?
Well PUBG also has a fair share of criticisms. Tencent bought a 10% stake in PUBG mobile and also some of it by LightSpeed and Quantum Studios, which, again is an internal division of Tencent games. If you are skeptical of Playing PUBG Mobile, you can take a look at Fortnite. Call of Duty Mobile also is developed by TiMi studios, which is a subsidiary of Tencent Games.
So, that's it from our end. What do you think? Which apps have you installed? Follow us for more posts like this.
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