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Indian Alternative to Chinese Apps like TikTok, CamScanner, Shein, and More India has a replacement app for everything. Here are multiple homegrown replacements for TikTok, Camscanner, Clash of King to UC Browsers and more

By Priyadarshini Patwa

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

TikTok/ Mitron/ShareChat/ShareIt/Jio/UCBrowser

After the Galwan clash and ban of 59 Chinese apps, the Indian sentiments to use homegrown apps has grown stronger. Recently, the Union government also banned more 47 Chinese apps, citing security concerns.

This move has given the homegrown apps finally a market to test their development. The native developers support the ban and want users to move to apps developed by Indians for Indians. These app developers claim that Indian apps keep user data safe and secure within the country, unlike Chinese apps.

India is an important consumer market for China. Hence the ban on significantly affects their economy. Indian users are steadily moving to Indian apps promoting 'Vocal to Local' initiative. India has an alternative app for everything, from TikTok, Camscanner, Clash of King to UC Browsers. Entrepreneur India brings you a list of Indian apps that can are suitable replacements for the banned Chinese apps. Here we take a glance at some of the foremost popular ones and their alternatives:

  • TikTok: Perhaps the foremost famous of all the Chinese apps, TikTok has become a rage among Indians sharing short videos, dance steps, and sharing them in their community of followers.

Alternatives:

1. Bolo Indya: Made in India, Bolo Indya is arch-rival to all other infotainment apps. The main feature of the app comprises of creating video based on our knowledge, art, and interest. It also allows users to create and share content in 10 Indian languages. The app just like its rival also allows you to make money.

2. Mitron: A video-sharing application developed in Bengaluru, as of date, occupies a spot within the top 10 free Google play applications. Mitron has a rating of 4.7 stars and allows users to make, edit, share, and browse videos.

3. Chingari: Chingari just 10 days there were 30 lakh downloads and at one point witnessed 500,000 downloads in just 72 hours. So far, the Chingar has already garnered 1.1 crore downloads on the Google Play store and is available in multiple Indian languages.

  • ShareIt: One of the most popular sharing app with the fastest cross-platform transfer speed & free online feeds, ShareIt was almost on everyone's phones in India.

Alternative:

1. ShareChat: ShareChat is an Indian regional social media platform, developed by Mohalla Tech Private Limited. It was designed to create it easy to share content from the platform to different social networking platforms. ShareChat was designed to figure on even the poorest connections.

  • LiveChat: LiveChat was used as internet customer service software with online chat, help desk software, and web analytics capabilities. Companies use LiveChat as one point of contact to manage from one software all customer service and online sales activities that normally are provided using different channels (chat, email, and social media) and multiple tools.

Alternatives:

1. UDo: UDo, a mobile application changes the way freelance consulting works. Unlike the other application like Zoom, Skype, Duo, WhatsApp, etc. the app enables teachers, trainers, coaches, and businesses to set-up paid video sessions or large group events effortlessly.

2. Airmeet: Airmeet is all about hosting an online event, large-scale conferences, and having meaningful interactions. It's also user-friendly as the audience doesn't need to go through hoops of downloading an app to attend the event. With social lounge, Airmeet enables the chance interactions, akin to bumping into someone at an offline event, while backstage lets the organiser be prepared with the speakers.

3 Jio Meet: Launched by Reliance JioMeet allows users to set up a one on one call or a conference call with up to 100 participants with enterprise-grade host control. It also allows users to host or join an unlimited number of calls. Free of charge, the USP of the app is that unlike Zoom the duration of call here isn't limited to 40 minutes and can last up to 24 hours.

  • UC News: UC News one in all the popular news outlets of UC Web, by Alibaba Alibaba Group. UC News is integrated with UC Browser.

Alternatives:

1. Inshorts: Inshorts is a news app that selects the most recent news from multiple national, international sources and summarizes them to present in an exceedingly short and crisp 60 words or less format, personalized within the English and Hindi.

2. Lokal: Bengaluru-based startup Lokal provides local news, classifieds, matrimony advertisements, and job listings, besides other relevant information in Telugu and Tamil languages, to mobile users of Tier-II and III towns, and villages of the state, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.

  • Club Factory/ Shein: Club Factory and Shein were one in all the famous fashion, beauty, and lifestyle e-commerce store.

Alternatives:

1. Bewakoof: Bewakoof a lifestyle brand is quite popular for its quirky clothing line.

2. AJIO: AJIO, which is being driven by Isha Ambani, has bound with about 200 international and national brands. Most of the brands are daily wear and affordable brands from markets like Russia, Australia, and Europe. It also sells its private brands.

3. Myntra: Another popular Indian fashion e-commerce company headquartered in Bengaluru, Myntra is quite popular for his lifestyle collection.

  • UC Browser: UC Browser is an applications programme developed by Chinese mobile internet company UCWeb, a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group. It is one in all the foremost popular mobile browsers in China, India, and Indonesia, and was the 8th most downloaded mobile app of the 2010–2019 decade.

Alternatives:

1. JioBrowser: Reliance Jio, one in every of the leading telecom players, has launched a replacement application Jio Browser for Android smartphone users. The web browser over 10,00,000 downloads and reviews from over 1,500 users.

2. Epic applications programme: Epic is a privacy-centric web browser. It Developed by Hidden Reflex from Chromium ASCII text file, it is usually in "private browsing mode". A great thing is exiting the browser deletes all browser data and during browsing, as little as possible is stored.

  • CamScanner: CamScanner, a Chinese mobile app first became one of the most popular image scanners. It allowed users to 'scan' documents and share the photo as either a JPEG or PDF.

Alternative:

1. Kaagaz Scanner: Created by IIT graduates, Kaagaz Scanner was launched 10 days before the Chinese App Ban. At the moment only available in the Google Playstore, the app allows Android devices to be used as image scanners. Since the ban, the app has gained popularity among the consumer, getting a rating of over 4 stars and has already been downloaded over 5 lakhs times.

2. DocScanner: Developed by Easy Mob Apps, DocScanner has been in the market for quite a long time. The app has seen a steady rise across the past few months and the Chinese App ban gave it a nice push forward. It's a simple PDF document scanner app that lets you scan documents, receipts, photos, reports, and more. The app already has over 1 million+ downloads and 4.3 ratings on the Google PlayStore.

  • Clash of Kings: Clash of Kings, the game has been one amongst the top-grossing apps on the App Store and Google Play, since its release and has also had several high-profile international celebrity endorsements.

Alternatives:

Ludo King: Ludo King is undoubtedly India's favourite, especially during now of the pandemic. Developed by an India-based software developer company Gametion, it became one of the most downloaded games. The USP is that Ludo King allows users to play with relations like siblings, parents, and may wish for.

It's unclear how long the ban on Chinese apps will remain. Possibly the banned apps will remain off-limits to Indians forever. This is good news for many Indian companies that compete directly with the banned Chinese apps. The number of people who use Indian alternatives to banned Chinese apps will undoubtedly increase in the weeks ahead.

Priyadarshini Patwa

Former Features Editor, Entrepreneur India

Priyadarshini Patwa is the Former Features Editors of Entrepreneur India and hosted an Instagram show every Friday named ‘Lighten Up’, about people from different walks of life and talk about their work and beyond. She handled the lifestyle, features, technology, entertainment segments and was also responsible for the Digital Covers. Previously she has worked with MensXP, a Times of India entity and Deccan Chronicle. 

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