List of Chinese Android Apps posing threat to your privacy and security

China is reported to be spying on several customers or users of their Android apps, websites, and mobile phones. We have seen many reports in the past about cheap Chinese smartphones and gadgets stealing data and posing threat to our privacy and security. One such report from Times of India says Indian government has sent a notice to several Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Gionee to provide secure transmission and storage of sensitive data. However, security threat is not just limited to smartphones. Lately, China is being accused of spying on several users via their Chinese Android apps on the Play Store.

According to this story by ZeeNews, China is spying through 42 Chinese applications present on the Google Play Store. Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) have listed 42 such Android apps which are a severe threat to Indian users. So it is wise to just stay away from these apps and uninstall them. Many of these apps have over 100 million downloads on the Play Store. Some have even crossed 500 million benchmark.

A very simple explanation of why China pose a threat to our privacy and stealing our data is that China discourages encryption. Most of their websites are void of any sort of encryption. Any or all encrypted apps, websites, or services are banned from China. This could be one of the reasons why Google, Facebook, YouTube, etc. are banned. Even their major search engine Baidu is not encrypted and so is their major eCommerce website Alibaba. Some smartphones in China have their separate firmware. For instance, the H2OS firmware for OnePlus phones.

Encryption is extremely important today. Google brought Encryption to Android OS and is also encouraging websites and app developers to bring encryption as well. The best way to see if a site is encrypted is to see the HTTPS protocol and the secure lock beside it. Checkout our  website, for instance, it has a valid SSL/TLS certificate.

This Tomsghide report suggests against buying cheap Chinese mobile phones or wireless gadgets. It is a risk not worth taking. Though smartphones from Apple, Google Pixel, LG, OnePlus, etc. are manufactured in China, these companies have some regulations. Most importantly, their software is encrypted and all data is transferred over a secure HTTPS protocol. So they won’t pose much threat to your privacy.

Moreover, none of the Chinese companies have total control over their products and services. The strict laws in China make us wonder – Is China really spying on us through their Android apps and smartphones? I will leave it up to you to decide. Here, we have collected a list of Chinese Android applications that may be posing threat to you

Also read:

• List of apps to delete from your Android phone
• How to prolong battery life?
• Clean master starts showing Adware

List of Chinese Android Apps suspected of spying and risking privacy.

1. Weibo
2. WeChat
3. CacheCleaner DU Apps Studio
4. Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile
5. UC News
6. UC browser
7. DU battery Saver
8. DU Cleaner
9. DU Privacy
10. DU Recorder
11. DU Browser
12. 360 Security
13. ES File Explorer
14. ShareIt
15. BeautyPlus
16. NewsDog
17. Viva Video – Qu Video Inc.
18. Parallel Space
19. Apus Browser
20. Perfect Corp
21. Virus Cleaner – Hi Security Lab
22. CM browser
23. MI community
24. Mi Video Call – Xiaomi
25. Vault Hide – NQ mobile security
26. YouCam Makeup
27. MI Store
28. Baidu Translate
29. Wonder Camera – Baidu INC.
30. Photo Wonder
31. WeSync
32. QQ Launcher
33. QQ International
34. QQ Music
35. QQ Mail
36. QQ Player
37. QQ Newsfeed
38. QQ Security Centre
39. Selfie City
40. TrueCaller
41. Mail Master

We have reported fishy behavior from some of these apps like Clean Master, DU Battery saver, etc. in the past. So if you think privacy is your utmost priority, then you may consider removing these apps if already installed. Stay tuned for more such news and apps.