India continues to clamp down on Chinese apps as tensions are rising among the superpower nations. In addition to 59 applications banned in June this year, including such giants as TikTok, the Indian government announced it plans to block 118 more apps. Among the applications in the new list is one of the most popular games in India, PUBG Mobile, that has been entertaining local people during the ongoing lockdown.
If you are one of the PUBG fans and have been starting to worry about never getting to play this game again, fear not. In this post, we have compiled some tips that should help you access and enjoy the game even after the ban.
What is PUBG all about?
Released in 2018, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) mobile is an online multiplayer Battle Royale style game. The plot of the game takes place on an island where players are dropped off from a plane and have to fight among each other until one last man is left standing.
Currently, the game has over 700 million mobile downloads and ranks in the top 5 most popular mobile games worldwide. The mobile game has an especially huge following in India, where it has been downloaded more than 175 million times.
PUBG mobile game is available for both Android and iOS users. Android users, who would like to try the game, should make sure they have an Android 5.1.1 or higher and at least 2 GB of memory. The game’s iOS version requires iOS 9.0 or later and is supported on iPhone models back to iPhone 6.
However, apart from the above requirements, there are a few more things you should make sure of if you would like to play this game even after the ban, and we are here to help you out.
What is a VPN and how can you use it to prepare for the PUBG mobile ban?
A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, in short, is best described as a tool that hides your IP address and encrypts your online traffic. VPNs can be used to access geo-restricted applications, shield your browsing activity from hackers on public Wi-Fi, and more.
VPNs are also used for entertainment, such as accessing foreign streaming service libraries or mobile games that are not available in your home country. While most geo-based applications and services are easy to manipulate via a VPN, some services complicate the process by applying region-based restrictions that can be harder to bypass.
For example, some applications might check the user’s “Location Services” information or the country of origin of their SIM card. However, even after the PUBG mobile ban in India, it will likely remain possible to overcome these restrictions with a few easy-to-follow steps:
1. Delete the PUBG mobile application, remove the SIM card and disable ‘Location Services’ on your device;
2. Change your Google Play Store location. A tutorial on how to do so can be found here.
3. Download Atlas VPN application and use the “Auto-Connect” option which will automatically connect you to the closest and fastest server.
4. Install PUBG mobile and login to your account.
Indian citizens might be wondering if continuing to play PUBG mobile would be an “anti-national act”. The main concern for the Indian Government is the fact that PUBG is part-owned by a Chinese technology company — Tencent, which is accused of gathering data about Indian citizens.
The good news is that when using a trusted VPN provider, the user’s traffic is encrypted and the IP address is changed, which means that Indian citizens will become anonymous when playing PUBG mobile.
Finally, using a VPN when playing PUBG is not against their Terms of Service, and this method will not result in your account being banned. Also, the recent bans on multiple apps in India will increase VPN usage.
