UC Browser removed from Google Play Store

UC Browser has been removed from the Google Play store. The Alibaba-owned mobile browser, which garnered more than 500 million downloads last month and has over 100 million users in India, is no longer visible on search or anywhere in the Play store.

However, other UCWeb applications such as UC Browser Mini and UC News are still available on the Play Store. This comes amidst developments over the last few months that the browser was sending personal data of its Indian users to a server in China.

However, there is yet no official response from either Google or UCWeb stating the reason for the expulsion of the app from the Play Store.

A Twitter user called Mike Ross, who claimed to be a UCWeb employee said that the app was "temporarily removed" for a period of 30 days.

I work for UC Browser,I got mail today morning it said that UC Browser was temporarily removed from play store for 30 days because it used "Misleading" and "Unhealthy" methods of promotion to increase installs

— Mike Ross (@SKz_14) November 14, 2017

Earlier this year, there were reports of a probe against UCWeb for sending user details to a remote server in China. However, UCWeb denied those charges and released a statement saying that its biggest priority was to ensure the privacy and security of its users.