Xiaomi Clarifies Status of Banned Chinese Apps on Its Phones

Xiaomi has released a statement on Twitter clarifying the situation with banned Chinese apps on its phones. It states that none of the apps that have been blocked by the Indian government are available on any Xiaomi phone and that 100 percent of Indian user data stays in the country. It also states that its own MIUI Cleaner app does not use the now banned Clean Master app. This comes after many Chinese apps including Mi Browser and Mi Community app were banned in India as a result of the country's move to counter China's dominance in the India's internet services market.

As per the tweet by Xiaomi's Mi India Twitter account, the Chinese company wants to clarify to its community the situation with data privacy and security concerns that have been raised regarding certain banned apps. It states that Xiaomi phones cannot access any of the banned apps in India and the company is working on a version of MIUI that will not have any of these banned apps pre-installed. This new version will be rolled out over the next few weeks in a phased manner.

Addressing the Clean Master app issue, Xiaomi says that its MIUI Cleaner app was only using “industry definitions that are vital to the functioning” of its cleaner app. It says that ‘Clean Master' is a common industry name and that Xiaomi is not using the banned Clean Master app for its operating system. Further, it has now updated the MIUI Cleaner app and removed these industry definitions. If the app has not updated automatically, users can manually update it on their Xiaomi smartphones by heading to the System apps updater in Settings.

The post also states that since 2018, all user data from Indian users is stored on local servers and none of it is shared with servers or anyone outside the country. Lastly, Xiaomi says that all upcoming smartphones will come with updated software, meaning it will not include any of the banned apps.

Just recently, it was said that the Indian government will widen the Chinese app ban to stop more apps from Xiaomi and Baidu. Xiaomi's own browser app - Mi Browser – was also banned in India.

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Vineet Washington Email Vineet Vineet Washington writes about gaming, smartphones, audio devices, and new technologies for Gadgets 360, out of Delhi. Vineet is a Senior Sub-editor for Gadgets 360, and has frequently written about gaming on all platforms and new developments in the world of smartphones. In his free time, Vineet likes to play video games, make clay models, play the guitar, watch sketch-comedy, and anime. Vineet is available on vineetw@ndtv.com, so please send in your leads and tips. More