UC Browser, a popular mobile web browser owned by China’s Alibaba Group, has mysteriously disappeared from the Google Play Store. The app was pulled from the Google Play Store on November 12, according to data from app analytics firm App Annie. Several users began inquiring about the app’s whereabouts earlier this week on Reddit. It was not immediately clear why UC Browser had been pulled from Android’s marquee app store. According to Twitter user Mike Ross, who claims to be a developer at Alibaba Group, Google pulled UC Browser from its store due to “misleading” and “unhealthy” promotional tactics used by the company to increase the install count of its app. UC Browser is still available to download on Apple’s App Store, Amazon’s Android store, and through company’s official website. UC Browser Mini, a light version of the company’s browser is notably still listed on Google Play. Though UC Browser is not a household name in the Western markets, the Alibaba’s app is incredibly popular in markets such as India. It has been among the top six most downloaded apps from Google Play in India for the last two years, venture capitalist Mary Meeker noted in her yearly internet report in May this year. As of July, UC Browser had been installed more than 100 million times worldwide from Google Play Store.

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Source: Slashdot – UC Browser Mobile App Disappears From Google Play Store