Remove China Apps, an app that let you find and delete made in China apps from your Android phones, has been pulled from the Google Play Store. Google has suspended Remove China Apps for allegedly violating its deceptive behaviour policy. “We don’t allow apps that attempt to deceive users or enable dishonest behavior including but not limited to apps which are determined to be functionally impossible,” the policy reads.
Google’s Play Store policy clearly states that all apps must provide “an accurate disclosure, description and images/video of their functionality in all parts of the metadata and should perform as reasonably expected by the user.” Also, “any changes to device settings must be made with the user’s knowledge and consent and be easily reversible by the user.”
It isn’t immediately clear which part(s) of the policy Remove China Apps was caught violating before it was taken down from the Google Play Store.
Makers of the app, home grown company OneTouch AppLabs, launched Remove China Apps in mid-May. The app was designed to identify the country of origin of apps installed on your Android smartphone and also as an added extra, delete them all in one go, should you want to. Though meant for educational purposes, as per the makers, Remove China Apps had a literal field day in India soon after launch owing to the ongoing wave of strong anti-China sentiment that’s blowing across the country thanks to its strategic naming and functionality. Remove China Apps became a viral sensation in India, with over 10 lakh installs and counting, just days after it went live on the Play Store on May 17.
Dear Friends,
Google has suspended our #RemoveChinaApps from google play store.
Thank you all for your support in past 2 weeks.
"You Are Awesome"TIP
Its easy to find the origin of any app by searching on google
by typing
<AppName> origin countryStay Tuned !! Stay Safe!!
— onetouchapplabs (@onetouchapplabs) June 2, 2020
Google has also similarly suspended Mitron app, another Android app that picked up steam by claiming to offer a “desi” alternative to China’s TikTok, for violating its spam and minimum functionality policy.
Both these instances prove users must be mindful before downloading and installing any Android app from Play Store or via sideloading APKs.
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