The popular browser application UC Browser has been taken down from the Google Play Store following allegations regarding data leak.
The app, developed by Alibaba Group-owned UC web, has recently come under the government's scanner for allegedly sending data to remote servers in China, reports Hindustan Times. The UC Web's other app, UC Brower Mini is still available in Play Store.
The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing in Hyderabad is probing the case in which the application could allegedly access user data even after it is uninstalled from the phone.
However, the application is available in Apple store.
No clarification regarding the taken down browsing app has been provided yet. However, Artem Russakovskii, Android Police’s founder, posted about an email from the UC Union regarding the application's ‘Malicious Promotion’ methods. According to a report on Android Central, which has shared contents of the mail, the reason for the takedown could be “malicious redirect ads served up by UC Web’s affiliates to inflate installs", reports The Indian Express.
Mike Ross who claims to work in UC Browser has tweeted that the app was temporarily removed from Play Store for 30 days because it used "Misleading" and "Unhealthy" methods of promotion to increase installs.
The app's data leak was earlier reported on 2015 when the Canadian technology research group Citizen Lab said that the UC Brower is providing critical personal information, including location, mobile number and device details, to third-party applications.
According to Android Authority reports, UC Web has 100 million monthly active users in the country.
UC Browser is the sixth-most downloaded app in India, as per Internet Trends Report 2017 by Kleiner Perkins in June.
The browser which allows users to access maximum content with minimum mobile data consumption is popular among masses with 500 million downloads globally.