NEW DELHI: The Indian government banned an additional 118 China-linked apps in India. The list included PUBG Mobile, one of the most popular gaming apps in India. After almost two days since the ban, PUBG Mobile has now been removed from the Google Play Store and the App Store in India.
PUBG Mobile is no longer available to download for Android and iOS users. The game can still be played for users who have it installed on their smartphones. We can confirm that searching for PUBG Mobile on the Play Store and App Store doesn’t show the app in the search results. This is similar to what happened during the first wave of Chinese apps getting banned in India. The next step for this ban process to complete is for Internet Service Providers to block access to PUBG Mobile in India.
However, if you search for PUBG Mobile on Google it shows the Play Store listing to download the app. Once you select it you’re redirected to the Play Store but the app doesn’t download, as expected. Since the move is fresh, it will probably take some time to clear the Play Store listing in India. Along with PUBG Mobile, the lighter version of the game, PUBG Mobile Lite has also been removed from the app stores.
Similar to banning the previous China-linked apps, the Indian government said the latest apps too are dangerous to the country’s security and defense. The government added that it received complaints alleging that these apps are collecting user data and sending them to servers outside the country.
