A week ago, India banned a bunch of Android and iOS apps. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) have received several reports that these mobile apps threaten national security and endanger the privacy of Indian citizens. The Indian government has decided not to allow the use of certain applications, both for mobile and non-mobile users.
The full list of banned applications:
TikTok
Shareit
Kwai
UC Browser
Baidu map
Shein
Clash of Kings
DU battery saver
Helo
Likee
YouCam makeup
Mi Community
CM Browers
Virus Cleaner
APUS Browser
ROMWE
Club Factory
Newsdog
Beutry Plus
WeChat
UC News
QQ Mail
Weibo
Xender
QQ Music
QQ Newsfeed
Bigo Live
SelfieCity
Mail Master
Parallel Space
Mi Video Call - Xiaomi
WeSync
ES File Explorer
Viva Video - QU Video Inc
Meitu
Vigo Video
New Video Status
DU Recorder
Vault- Hide
Cache Cleaner DU App studio
DU Cleaner
DU Browser
Hago Play With New Friends
Cam Scanner
Clean Master - Cheetah Mobile
Wonder Camera
Photo Wonder
QQ Player
We Meet
Sweet Selfie
Baidu Translate
Vmate
QQ International
QQ Security Center
QQ Launcher
U Video
V fly status video
Mobile Legends
DU Privacy
Looking at the list, we see mainly service apps that are touted as a necessity in India - file manager, document reader, RAM cleaner, independent sharing service, but also major platforms not related to in-game purchases, such as PUBG. However, the platforms of the big Chinese companies are not spared - we see Baidu apps, Alibaba's UC browser, Tencent's QQ app ecosystem and Xiaomi's largest communication channel, Mi Community app.
In this week's beta update of MIUI 12, one such privacy concern has been fixed, which removes EXIF data from the image when sharing our photos. This data could be the following:
Date and time
Camera settings when taking a picture. Includes static information about the camera (e.g. manufacturer name, camera type) and settings made by the person who took the picture (e.g. aperture, shutter speed, ISO value)
Image orientation (landscape or portrait), which allows image viewers to display the image with correct rotation
Location where the picture was taken (only on GPS-equipped devices)
A stamp-sized replica of the image. This is also used by the camera's LCD itself and by external image viewers
Descriptions and copyright information
When you submit our images, the Gallery will offer to remove this data before sharing, but it is up to us to decide whether this happens. Of course, this may not always be necessary if you need this information, for example when you're playing sports or on a trip, or if you want to know when and where the picture was taken, or if you want to prove that it was taken with your phone. This feature is only available in the Chinese MIUI 12 beta, and will come to the Chinese stable and then to the Global stable branch. Be patient.
