<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
is	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
mobile	O
internet	O
company	O
UCWeb	O
,	O
a	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
the	O
Alibaba	O
Group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
mobile	B-Application
browser	I-Application
in	O
India	O
and	O
Indonesia	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
second	O
most	O
popular	O
one	O
in	O
China	O
as	O
of	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
world-wide	O
browser	B-Application
share	O
as	O
of	O
May	O
2022	O
is	O
0.86	O
%	O
overall	O
(	O
and	O
1.48	O
%	O
on	O
smartphones	O
)	O
according	O
to	O
StatCounter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
launched	O
in	O
April	O
2004	O
as	O
a	O
Java-only	O
application	B-Application
,	O
it	O
is	O
now	O
available	O
on	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
platforms	O
including	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
Java	B-Language
ME	I-Language
,	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
is	O
a	O
cross-platform	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
primarily	O
targeted	O
at	O
mobile	O
phones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
small	O
app	O
size	O
and	O
data	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
technology	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
popular	O
in	O
emerging	O
markets	O
where	O
people	O
tend	O
to	O
have	O
mobile	O
phones	O
with	O
more	O
limited	O
device	O
memory	O
and	O
internet	O
bandwidth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
particular	O
,	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
is	O
unique	O
in	O
its	O
use	O
of	O
proxy	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
which	O
run	O
data	O
through	O
UCWeb	O
servers	O
before	O
sending	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
device	O
,	O
enabling	O
data	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
but	O
also	O
posing	O
privacy	O
risks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
include	O
cloud	B-Architecture
acceleration	O
,	O
multi-file	O
format	O
downloading	O
,	O
HTML5	B-Application
web	O
app	O
and	O
cloud	B-Architecture
syncing	O
features	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
fast	O
download	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
downloads	O
files	O
in	O
multiple	O
parts	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
is	O
available	O
as	O
both	O
an	O
Android	B-Application
app	O
and	O
an	O
iOS	B-Application
app	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
on	O
several	O
other	O
older	O
or	O
discontinued	O
mobile	O
operating	O
systems	O
including	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
primarily	O
a	O
mobile	O
app	O
,	O
UCWeb	O
also	O
offers	O
a	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
desktop	O
version	O
(	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
macOS	B-Application
version	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
uses	O
proxy	B-Application
servers	I-Application
to	O
compress	O
web	O
pages	O
before	O
sending	O
them	O
to	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
process	O
requires	O
less	O
memory	O
on	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
device	O
and	O
lowers	O
data	O
costs	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
also	O
poses	O
privacy	O
and	O
security	O
risks	O
as	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
accessed	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
through	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
first	O
runs	O
through	O
a	O
UCWeb	O
server	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
going	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
platform	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
WebApp	O
store	O
,	O
an	O
add-on	O
platform	O
and	O
an	O
Application	B-Application
Bookmark	O
Platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
went	O
live	O
with	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
v9.2	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
can	O
use	O
a	O
provided	O
SDK	B-Application
to	O
create	O
programs	O
that	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
runs	O
in	O
different	O
scenarios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
download	O
and	O
install	O
them	O
from	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
's	O
add-on	O
panel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Application	B-Application
Bookmark	O
Platform	O
allows	O
partner	O
websites	O
to	O
put	O
up	O
a	O
QR	O
code	O
on	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
for	O
users	O
to	O
scan	O
,	O
which	O
adds	O
the	O
webpage	O
to	O
their	O
bookmarks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
browser	B-Application
supports	O
simultaneous	O
downloads	O
and	O
includes	O
a	O
download	O
manager	O
,	O
including	O
pages	O
for	O
offline	O
reading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UCWeb	O
claims	O
that	O
the	O
cloud	B-Architecture
system	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
tends	O
to	O
fetch	O
data	O
from	O
the	O
closest	O
servers	O
available	O
,	O
making	O
the	O
loading	O
process	O
quicker	O
and	O
smoother	O
for	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2015	O
,	O
National	O
Security	O
Agency	O
(	O
NSA	O
)	O
documents	O
leaked	O
by	O
whistleblower	O
Edward	O
Snowden	O
indicated	O
that	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
leaks	O
sensitive	O
data	O
like	O
international	O
mobile	O
subscriber	O
identities	O
,	O
international	O
mobile	O
station	O
equipment	O
identities	O
,	O
MSISDN	O
's	O
,	O
Android	B-Application
ID	O
's	O
,	O
MAC	O
addresses	O
,	O
and	O
geolocation	O
and	O
Wi-Fi-related	O
data	O
without	O
any	O
encryption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
documents	O
also	O
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
Australian	O
Signals	O
Directorate	O
(	O
ASD	O
)	O
had	O
identified	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
as	O
a	O
security	O
weak	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
documents	O
revealed	O
that	O
in	O
cooperation	O
with	O
its	O
Five	O
Eyes	O
partners	O
,	O
ASD	O
hacked	O
the	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
and	O
infected	O
smartphones	O
with	O
spyware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2015	O
,	O
Citizen	O
Lab	O
,	O
a	O
laboratory	O
based	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Toronto	O
,	O
published	O
a	O
report	O
finding	O
numerous	O
privacy	O
and	O
security	O
issues	O
with	O
both	O
the	O
English	O
language	O
and	O
Chinese	O
language	O
editions	O
of	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
version	O
of	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
managed	O
to	O
bypass	O
the	O
encryption	O
of	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
,	O
leading	O
them	O
to	O
accuse	O
UCWeb	O
of	O
using	O
non-effective	O
encryption	O
systems	O
to	O
transmit	O
personally	O
identifiable	O
subscriber	O
data	O
,	O
mobile	O
device	O
identifiers	O
,	O
and	O
user	O
geolocation	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2016	O
,	O
Alibaba	O
Group	O
provided	O
Citizen	O
Lab	O
with	O
updated	O
versions	O
of	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
in	O
order	O
to	O
verify	O
their	O
security	O
fixes	O
to	O
these	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
subsequent	O
update	O
published	O
by	O
Citizen	O
Lab	O
indicated	O
that	O
not	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
previously	O
identified	O
data	O
leaks	O
and	O
privacy	O
breaches	O
had	O
been	O
fixed	O
in	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Citizen	O
Lab	O
report	O
,	O
the	O
Centre	O
for	O
Development	O
of	O
Advanced	O
Computing	O
(	O
C-DAC	O
)	O
,	O
Hyderabad	O
,	O
India	O
a	O
scientific	O
research	O
unit	O
within	O
India	O
's	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Electronics	O
and	O
Information	O
Technology	O
(	O
MEITY	O
)	O
GoI	O
,	O
began	O
a	O
technical	O
investigation	O
into	O
the	O
"	O
several	O
major	O
privacy	O
and	O
security	O
vulnerabilities	O
that	O
would	O
seriously	O
expose	O
users	O
of	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
to	O
surveillance	O
and	O
other	O
privacy	O
violations	O
"	O
alleged	O
in	O
the	O
report	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
C-DAC	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
(	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
second-most-used	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
India	O
)	O
had	O
been	O
sending	O
user	O
data	O
to	O
Chinese	O
servers	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
retains	O
control	O
over	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
device	O
DNS	O
even	O
after	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
is	O
deleted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
is	O
banned	O
in	O
India	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2019	O
,	O
analysts	O
at	O
the	O
anti-malware	B-Application
firm	O
Doctor	O
Web	O
publicly	O
disclosed	O
that	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
and	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
Mini	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
was	O
downloading	O
and	O
installing	O
extra	O
modules	O
from	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
own	O
servers	O
via	O
an	O
unprotected	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
exposed	O
browser	B-Application
users	O
to	O
arbitrary	O
remote	O
code	O
execution	O
if	O
an	O
attacker	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
perform	O
a	O
man-in-the-middle	O
attack	O
to	O
deliver	O
malicious	O
module	O
(	O
but	O
no	O
cases	O
of	O
exploitation	O
were	O
publicly	O
disclosed	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
this	O
violates	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
policies	O
that	O
forbid	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
apps	O
from	O
downloading	O
any	O
executable	O
code	O
from	O
any	O
sources	O
outside	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2020	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
its	O
UC	B-Language
browser	I-Language
was	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
store	I-Application
with	O
updated	O
settings	O
that	O
comply	O
with	O
the	O
store	O
's	O
security	O
guidelines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
tests	O
on	O
Qualys	O
,	O
a	O
cloud	B-General_Concept
security	I-General_Concept
firm	O
,	O
and	O
High-Tech	O
Bridge	O
,	O
an	O
internet	B-Application
security	I-Application
firm	O
,	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
contains	O
Logjam	B-Protocol
,	O
FREAK	B-Application
,	O
and	O
POODLE	B-Protocol
vulnerabilities	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
also	O
uses	O
an	O
outdated	O
RC4	B-Algorithm
cipher	I-Algorithm
cryptography	O
with	O
deprecated	O
SSL	O
3	O
or	O
even	O
SSL	B-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
protocols	O
,	O
which	O
have	O
many	O
security	O
flaws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2019	O
,	O
Indian	O
security	O
researcher	O
Arif	O
Khan	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
URL	O
address	O
bars	O
on	O
the	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
and	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
Mini	O
apps	O
were	O
susceptible	O
to	O
URL	B-Protocol
spoofing	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
gained	O
significant	O
popularity	O
in	O
China	O
,	O
India	O
,	O
and	O
Indonesia	O
in	O
2012	O
through	O
2017	O
and	O
still	O
retains	O
some	O
popularity	O
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2012	O
,	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
topped	O
Opera	B-Application
in	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
's	O
free	O
Android	B-Application
app	O
download	O
category	O
in	O
India	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	O
Zeitgeist	O
2013	O
showed	O
that	O
the	O
"	O
Most	O
Searched	O
Mobile	O
Apps	O
"	O
in	O
India	O
were	O
dominated	O
by	O
messaging	O
and	O
browsing	O
apps	O
,	O
with	O
WhatsApp	O
and	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
topping	O
the	O
rankings	O
for	O
the	O
most	O
searches	O
on	O
mobile	O
in	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
March	O
2014	O
,	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
had	O
over	O
500	O
million	O
users	O
,	O
largely	O
in	O
China	O
,	O
India	O
,	O
and	O
Indonesia	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
of	O
2016	O
it	O
had	O
more	O
than	O
100	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
app	O
analytics	O
firm	O
App	O
Annie	O
,	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
was	O
the	O
8th	O
most	O
downloaded	O
mobile	O
app	O
of	O
the	O
2010	O
–	O
2019	O
decade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
independent	O
web	O
analytics	O
firm	O
StatCounter	O
,	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
had	O
never	O
been	O
the	O
leading	O
browser	B-Application
in	O
China	O
and	O
had	O
never	O
exceeded	O
20%	O
browser	B-Application
share	O
there	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
March	O
2021	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
had	O
43%	O
browser	B-Application
share	O
,	O
while	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
had	O
18%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
India	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
was	O
the	O
leading	O
browser	B-Application
from	O
October	O
2013	O
through	O
June	O
2017	O
,	O
peaking	O
at	O
46%	O
browser	B-Application
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
March	O
2021	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
had	O
85%	O
browser	B-Application
share	O
,	O
while	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
had	O
4.3	O
%	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Indonesia	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
was	O
the	O
leading	O
browser	B-Application
from	O
July	O
2015	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
until	O
March	O
2017	O
,	O
peaking	O
at	O
51%	O
browser	B-Application
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
March	O
2021	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
had	O
81%	O
browser	B-Application
share	O
,	O
while	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
had	O
1.9	O
%	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
number	O
of	O
users	O
of	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
may	O
be	O
significantly	O
affected	O
by	O
the	O
May	O
2020	O
recommendation	O
by	O
India	O
's	O
National	O
Security	O
Council	O
following	O
the	O
2020	O
China	O
–	O
India	O
skirmishes	O
that	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
and	O
other	O
Chinese-owned	O
apps	O
be	O
blocked	O
due	O
to	O
cyber-security	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
was	O
initially	O
launched	O
in	O
April	O
2004	O
as	O
a	O
J2ME-only	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
logo	O
of	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
was	O
redesigned	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
from	O
a	O
cartoon	O
squirrel	O
to	O
a	O
more	O
abstract	O
and	O
stylized	O
squirrel	O
that	O
's	O
more	O
in	O
line	O
with	O
American	O
designs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2013	O
,	O
UCWeb	O
customized	O
its	O
browser	B-Application
for	O
Vodafone	O
's	O
Indian	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2013	O
,	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
provided	O
distribution	O
channels	O
of	O
companies	O
like	O
AppURL	O
Initiative	O
and	O
partnered	O
with	O
distributor	O
Gameloft	O
to	O
sell	O
its	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
also	O
it	O
announced	O
a	O
partnership	O
with	O
Trend	O
Micro	O
,	O
under	O
which	O
both	O
companies	O
worked	O
to	O
provide	O
mobile	O
web	O
safety	O
assessments	O
in	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
26	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
Government	O
of	O
India	O
banned	O
UC	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
,	O
along	O
with	O
58	O
other	O
Chinese	O
apps	O
such	O
as	O
TikTok	B-Application
and	O
WeChat	B-Application
,	O
citing	O
data	O
and	O
privacy	O
issues	O
and	O
claiming	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
"	O
threat	O
to	O
the	O
sovereignty	O
and	O
integrity	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2021	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
was	O
removed	O
from	O
several	O
Chinese	O
app	O
stores	O
over	O
a	O
complaint	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
selling	O
misleading	O
medical	O
adverts	O
when	O
searching	O
for	O
hospitals	O
in	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
