Is TikTok banned in India?

TIKTOK is one of the world's most popular social media platforms, however it is banned in some countries.

Here, we look at why it is banned in India, and if any other social media companies are banned there.

Is TikTok banned in India?

TikTok has been banned in India since June 2020.

The app was initially banned by the Indian government in April 2019 as it said that TikTok was allowing the sharing of inappropriate content.

This ban was lifted later that month after a plea from the developers, ByteDance.

However, this was only allowed for just over a year before it was banned once again in 2020.

Why was TikTok banned?

TikTok was banned in India over privacy and security concerns.

This came after a conflict between Indian and Chinese troops at a disputed border in the Himalayas.

The incident saw 20 Indian soldiers killed and many others injured.

Is Instagram banned in India?

Instagram is not banned in India, and was actually the company that benefitted most from TikTok's ban.

In 2023, it was estimated that India had 229 million users of the platform, far more than any other country of earth.

Is Facebook banned in India?

No, Facebook is available in India, however there is only certain content allowed to be posted in the country.

Facebook reported that over 4,000 posts had been removed in India during the last six months of 2013 as the government believed that unlawful content had been shared.

The site was banned for three days in 2017 during riots in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, in order to avoid the spread of misinformation.

What other apps are banned in India?

Around 250 Chinese apps alone are banned in India as a result of the incident between their troops.

The Indian government banned these across three different periods in 2020, with government stating this was because they were: "prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state and public order."

WeChat, Weibo, Shein, UC Browser, Youcam makeup, UC News, WeSync and Baidu map are on the banned list.