Xiaomi Is Working On MIUI Update Which Will Remove All Apps Blocked By The Indian Government

Xiaomi has confirmed that it is working on a new version of the MIUI software for its smartphone line-up, which will remove all the apps that have been blocked by the Government of India. Over the past few weeks, India has blocked multiple Chinese apps owned and developed by Chinese tech companies, over fears about user data privacy and security. The banned apps include popular social media app TikTok, instant messaging app WeChat, as well as AliExpress, UCBrowser and Shein, to name a few. Xiaomi India also confirms that all data of Indian users is stored on servers based in India, and no data is shared with anyone outside the geographical boundaries of India.

“We want to clarify that none of the apps blocked by the Indian Government are available for access on any Xiaomi phones launched in India,” says Xiaomi India in an official statement. They also confirm that they are developing an updated version of MIUI for all Xiaomi phones sold in India which will not pre-install any apps that have been blocked by the Government of India. This update will be rolled out over the next few weeks to all phones in a phased manner.

Xiaomi India also confirms the data localization compliance which requires all data of Indian users to be saved and stored on servers within the geographical boundaries of India. “Even before it was mandated, we pioneered data localization for all Xiaomi India apps and users. Since 2018, 100% of data from Indian users in stored on servers located in India and none of this data is shared with anyone outside of India,” says the company.

Xiaomi is also addressing concerns that the MIUI Cleaner app is in no way related to the Clean Master app that has been blocked in India. Xiaomi says the MIUI cleaner app is only using definitions that are vital to the functioning of the app, and to eliminate the confusion, will be removing those definitions from the MIUI Cleaner app. Users can update the app on their smartphones, or the update will be rolled out as part of the next MIUI version as well.