When it comes to surfing internet on your Android phone, UC Browser has become very common. But taking everyone by surprise, the browser disappeared from the Google Play Store and that too after having completed around 500 million downloads. The mysterious disappearance has finally been explained. Various reports had alleged the Alibaba Group-owned mobile web browser was pulled down due to alleged unethical data sharing. The Chinese app has over 100 million users in India. Coming out with a clarification about the removal of its application from play store, the company has sent out an email which noted that “a certain setting of UC Browser is not in line with Google’s policy.” The company has also conducted an urgent internal investigation to fix the problem. The new version has been uploaded on Google Play’s Developer Console and is awaiting evaluation, the email read. The UC browser had a market share of 45.08 per cent in October, according to StatCounter.
Terming the error as “unintentional”, UC browser has said that they will actively cooperate with Google Play for any concern. However, the UC Browser Mini was sill available in the for users to download. “UC Browser new product package will be back on Google Play next week and, in the interim, users and partners can download the product from our website http://www.ucweb.com, ” the email further stated.
Mike Ross, who claims to be an employee of UC Browser, had tweeted “I work for UC Browser, I got mail today morning it said that UC Browser was temporarily removed from play store for 30 days because it used “Misleading” and “Unhealthy” methods of promotion to increase installs.”
Here is the full text of the UC browser email:
“We were informed by Google Play about temporary removal of UC Browser from the Play Store for 7 days, beginning 13 Nov 2017, under the reason that a certain setting of UC Browser is not in line with Google’s policy. We have conducted an urgent internal investigation and fixed the problem. The new version has been uploaded on Google Play’s Developer Console and is awaiting evaluation. We will actively cooperate with Google Play for any concern caused by this unintentional error. In the meantime, users can still download UC Browser Mini from the Play Store, an alternative version of UC Browser. We thank Google Play for their understanding and support extended to us. UC Browser new product package will be back on Google Play next week and, in the interim, users and partners can download the product from our website http://www.ucweb.com.”