Is Free Fire Banned in India: Garena Free Fire, one of the most popular battle royale mobile games is a competitor of the famous game PUBG, which is no longer available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. It was a very shocking moment for many Indian Free Fire players as Free Fire is the most popular battle royale game.
Till now, there was no such official news from the company but recently the Indian government has officially announced that Free Fire along with 53 more apps is banned due to suspected links to China. I know it may be heartbreaking news for many free-fire lovers.
Will Free Fire bounce back just like how PUBG did? Well, to get this answer, you need to read the full article. Also, I will tell you some tips which will help you to download Free Fire.
News about free fire ban in India
The Home Ministry has suggested banning 54 Chinese mobile apps, including the famous game Garena Free Fire. It is interesting to note that Garena Free Fire is based in Singapore and the manufacturer is not based in China.
According to various sources and news reports, the Indian government has banned these apps for the reason that they pose a “threat to the security of the nation”. All banned apps were of Chinese origin. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will formally issue a notification to ban the operation of these apps in India.
One noteworthy point is that Garena Free Fire is not a typical Chinese app as it was originally developed by SEA Limited of Singapore. However, the company hasn’t provided any explanation for why its name is included in the government’s list of banned Chinese applications.
This news of the free fire ban brought a sad surprise to the lovers of Garena Free Fire. In September 2020, the government banned PUBG. Garena Free Fire gained a strong fan base in a short span of time after the suspension of PUBG Mobile. Though you can use a VPN for PUBG to play the game, still it may not give the same experience as before
Users who have played Free Fire have been able to play the game, but only with limited results. Users have been facing problems logging in to the game for the last 24 hours. Some speculated that technical issues prevented them from playing the game smoothly.
List of apps banned by including Free fire
These are the list of 54 apps banned by the government of India.
BIG: India bans 54 more Chinese apps. pic.twitter.com/i68bZuCwzy
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 14, 2022
What was the reason for banning Garena Free Fire?
According to the report released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the 54 Chinese apps that were banned are either cloned versions, or the apps are posing a threat to the privacy and security of the user.
The Indian government recognized that the ban was necessary because these apps “pose a threat to the security of the country” “could obtain a number of critical permissions” and “collect sensitive information about users.” As per the report, the latest set of apps listed above is believed to have captured real-time user information which is being misused and transferred to servers in hostile countries.
In the last year, ADJ Naresh Kumar sent a letter to Prime Minister Modi in support of an end to the free-fire game. In his letter, ADJ asked the Indian Govt to ban the Garena Free Fire Battle Royale Game because it has a negative impact on kids and young people. The ADJ also stated that Young ones were spending their time for hours because of the games
Meanwhile, there are other security concerns as these apps are capable of carrying out espionage activities by accessing the camera, microphone, precise geolocation (GPS) and all those activities which were similar to the banned apps of 2020.
Will the Free Fire game be permanently banned in India?
#ETNOWExclusive | Government of India bans around 50 more apps. The new ban also includes apps banned earlier but have resurfaced as clones. 270 apps have been banned by GoI so far @NayantaraRai @AshwiniVaishnaw @Rajeev_GoI @GoI_MeitY @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/74QjJJu8tF
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) February 13, 2022
There appears to be confusion mostly due to the fact that Garena isn’t really a Chinese firm. The ban in 2020 was triggered mainly due to the rise of border disputes between India and China in the latter half of 2020.
In 2020, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology believed that the apps were unlawfully collecting data about Indian citizens. Garena however, is a Singaporean company, and therefore it’s possible that the “defence against India” justification ruled by the authorities does not have any relevance here.
This issue has angered many free-fire players as this game was removed from the Apple App Store without any prior notice. That’s what we are saying, not to get swayed by the rumours. Instead, keep an eye out to hear the official statement from the developers.
Is there any alternative to Garena Free Fire?
Although the government has banned this lite version of Free Fir, still there are two newer versions of the game available in the playstore. Free fire lovers can continue enjoying the game by downloading Garena Free Fire Max (Recently in September 2021). Free Fire Max is an enhanced version of Free Fire, which includes higher-quality graphics, better sound quality, smooth animations, such as zone effect, and weapon features including other exciting features
Garena Free Fire Max is currently out of the Apple App Store. However, it is still available to download from Google Play. As of now, it is still unclear whether the original Garena Free Fire can be played on a smartphone or not. Like PUBG its servers may shut down in the near future. We hope this does not happen, and Free Fire must be trying its best to make everything normal.
The best part is you can easily switch to Free Fire MAX without disfiguring your stats. Free fire players can transfer their statistics onto Free Fire MAX by using a regular version gaming ID, they just need to use Firelink for that. The free Fire Max game’s creator has provided players with the option of transferring their statistics. In this case, Free Fire players could also play the Free Fire Max version right now.
After the huge success of Free Fire, the Garena Free Fire Max game comes as an upgrade to it. You won’t find many differences in the interface or seasons of the two games but the most significant difference is in the settings for graphics. However, the popularity of Free Fire is unmatchable.
When will the free fire game be available in the Play Store?
In case this news is officially confirmed by the company, they will make a comeback with the Indian version of Free Fire, the same as PUBG re-entered the Indian market as BGMI.
The game is currently not available to download from any mobile store and also when the name of the game is entered it does not appear in the search results.
However, there appears some confusion due to the fact that Garena isn’t really a Chinese firm. The first wave of bans began after the border disputes that arose between India and China intensified in late 2020. Garena is, however, a Singaporean firm, which means that this “defense from India” justification offered by the authorities does not have any relevance here.
Some reports have also suggested the Garena Free Fire was not actually banned under Section 69A but Section 9(1) rather, as per the law anyone who tracks or gathers information or data about traffic will be prosecuted.
There hasn’t been any announcement from the Modi government has not officially announced anything regarding this issue. This is odd, considering that the previous round of bans was regularly discussed and even hailed from the government’s perspective as if it was the ultimate blow.
Is Garena Free Fire a Chinese application?
Garena Free Fire is a battle royale game from Singapore and not in China. However, a prior report has revealed that many applications on this list that were banned were discovered to originate from Singapore or Hong Kong and were later sending Indian user information through Chinese servers. Maybe, Garena was among the numerous apps sending this data.
What is a Free Fire game?
Players are thrown from a plane without weapons. And to survive in this deathmatch they have to outsmart other players.
Free Fire garnered a lot of attention for engaging with players on a daily basis. The company offers daily redemption codes that offer many amazing rewards to give its customers an edge while playing.
Not only in India but Garena Free Fire is the top mobile battle royale game available in the US. This action game has achieved the next level of success by becoming the most downloaded game in the Google Play store in January 2023.
