Dismissing reports that Google removed its app from its Play Store over data security concerns, Alibaba-owned UCWeb said on Thursday a certain setting of the app was not in line with Google’s policy and it will be back on Play Store next week.
“The exact reason for UC Browser’s unavailability on Google Play is because of a certain setting of UC Browser that was not in line with Google’s policy. The reason for the removal has nothing to do with alleged data security breach or malicious promotion,” a UCWeb spokesperson told IANS.
The app was de-listed from Google Play store on Tuesday night. There were media reports that Google removed the application because of data security issues.
“We would like to state that we have no records of anyone named ‘Mike Ross’ claiming to be working for UC Browser, as mentioned in some reports. The person claiming to be working for UC Browser is in no way associated with the firm nor represent the views of the company,” the spokesperson added.
“The allegations of misleading and malicious promotions by the said person are completely false and baseless. UC Browser new product package will be back on Google Play next week and, in the interim, users and partners can download the product from our website http://www.ucweb.com,” the company said.
When contacted, Google said in a statement: “Our policies are designed to provide a safe and positive experience for users. That’s why we remove apps from Google Play that violate those policies.”
UCWeb, however, clarified that the new version has been uploaded on Google Play’s “Developer Console” and was awaiting evaluation. Meanwhile, UC Browser Mini and UC News from the same group are still available online for download.
UC Browser claims to have a bigger base than Google Chrome and over 43 per cent market share in India. Out of its 500 million downloads, 100 million are from India alone. In January, Alibaba announced Rs 2 billion investment to build UCWeb in India and Indonesia over the next two years.