List of Chinese Apps and Where They Are Banned

What counts as a Chinese app on this list

Many of these apps are published by companies registered in Singapore, Ireland or elsewhere. The App Store seller name alone does not tell you who owns an app, so the list uses three plain rules.

Not included: apps that India's orders called "Chinese-linked" but which come from elsewhere, such as Garena's Free Fire, and apps from Hong Kong or Taiwan developers.

Popular Chinese apps by parent group

Developer names are shown as listed in the App Store. "Restrictions" lists country level actions with their year. Rules for government devices are covered on the government device bans page.

Moonton is a Shanghai studio ByteDance bought in 2021. In 2026 ByteDance agreed to sell it to Savvy Games Group, so check the current owner.

PUBG itself is owned by Krafton of South Korea. Tencent publishes the global mobile version, while Krafton publishes the Indian edition, BGMI.

Blocking guides: how to block DeepSeek and the full AI apps list.

"None found" means no country level app ban with a clear date. It does not mean an app is approved for your organization. Equipment rules, such as restrictions on buying certain cameras, are separate from app rules.

Where Chinese apps are restricted

A summary of country level actions against apps in the tables above. India acted on the largest number by far. The other countries acted on single apps.

Why governments restrict Chinese apps: the data question

Most actions cite where user data goes, not what the apps show. The legal tools differ from country to country.

• India, 2020 onwards. Orders under Section 69A of the IT Act described the apps as a threat to sovereignty and security, with data sent outside India among the concerns reported.
• United States, 2024. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act targeted control by a foreign adversary and led to the TikTok joint venture.
• Germany, 2025. Berlin's data protection commissioner said DeepSeek had not shown that transfers of users' data to China met EU law.
• India, 2025. Shein's return came with conditions that include storing Indian user data locally under a Reliance run app.

For apps that send data to third parties regardless of origin, see apps that share data.

Apps that work in China and apps that do not

The other side of the question, for staff and students travelling to China. These are the apps people inside China use, and the ones visitors find blocked.

Which app store works in China

For IT: staff devices travelling to China

A practical checklist for organizations that send staff or students to China. It covers device management, not ways around local rules.

• Use loaner devices with only the apps the trip needs, and wipe them on return.
• Plan for Google services being blocked. Mail, calendar and file sync that depend on them will not work.
• Decide on WeChat in advance. If the business needs it, install it on the loaner, not on the main work phone.
• Check VPN rules with legal advice. VPN use is regulated in China, so do not assume a corporate VPN is permitted.
• Re-check the app inventory on return and remove apps installed during the trip.
• Keep BYOD separate. Personal phones follow the BYOD app policy, not the travel profile.

Popular apps in China

Inside China, a handful of apps cover most daily tasks. Several have international versions under different names, which is why one company can appear many times in a blocklist.

One app, many listings: why a single bundle ID is not enough

Chinese groups often publish separate listings for regions, creators and sellers. Each listing has its own bundle ID, so blocking only the main app leaves the others working.

The same happens with games: Honkai Impact 3rd has separate Japanese and Korean listings, and Arena of Valor has a Japanese one. A category or developer based list picks these up. A list typed from memory usually does not. Our TikTok blocking guide covers the steps per MDM.

Building a "Chinese developer" blocklist without guesswork

Some organizations need to block apps by developer origin rather than by category, for example to follow a government device rule. Seller names make this hard, because the same group publishes under many company names.

Chinese apps: questions