Why is Mobile Legends still available on Play Store and App Store despite the ban?

The Government of India has imposed a ban on 59 Chinese apps engaged in activities that risked the sovereignty and integrity of India and were also prejudicial to the security of the state and public order. TikTok, ShareIt, UC Browser, and WeChat are amongst the most used Chinese apps that have been banned in the country. Along with these apps, the ban was also imposed on mobile games which include Mobile Legends, a popular multiplayer online battle arena game by Moonton.

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Why is Mobile Legends still available on Play Store?

While TikTok was amongst the first mobile apps that vanished from the Google Play Store after the ban, most of the banned applications are still available on the platform. Mobile Legends is one such app that is still part of the app listing on Google Play, meaning users can still download the game on their devices.

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When will Mobile Legends be removed from Play Store?

According to experts, it won’t be so easy to execute the ban on these Chinese mobile apps as it would require the Internet Service Providers in the country to blacklist each and every host-name and domain name that is linked with them. In addition, it will also require Google Play Store and App Store to remove the said applications from their respective stores. The government has already issued a notice to Apple and Google to restrict the apps for Indian users, and are also in talks with Internet Service Providers and telecom operators to help enforce the ban.

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So while the ban orders have already been issued by the government, it is quite likely that phone companies, along with Google and Apple, may take some time to act upon the government’s decision. It should also be noted that the ban won’t just apply to new installations from the app stores, but also on the apps that have already been installed by users. People who already have the banned Chinese applications installed on their devices won’t be able to use most of the apps once the ban orders are finally executed. However, a few apps may continue to work offline if they aren’t updated.

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Image credits: Google Play Store