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CM Browser (Chinese: 猎豹安全浏览器) is a web browser developed by Cheetah Mobile. The browser is based on Chromium and supports both the WebKit and Trident browser engines. Jinshan Network claims that CM Browser is the first secure dual-engine browser with a "browser intrusion prevention system".

On June 3, 2013, CM Browser was released on Android and iOS.

Controversies

Version 1 of CM Browser used version 17 of Chromium, which was much lower than the official version of Chromium. This prevented the use of the Chrome Web Store on CM Browser.

On September 21, 2014, Jinshan was ordered to pay Youku ¥300,000 for violating Chinese competition laws by allowing CM Browser to filter video ads on Youku's website. In the preceding trial, Youku claimed to suffer an economic loss as a result of CM Browser's ad filtering, as the company earned revenue from ads and premium subscriptions that allowed users to skip ads. Jinshan stated that CM Browser's ad filtering feature was vendor-neutral and that users must opt-in to activate the feature.

In November 2018, the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee commissioned an evaluation of the application permissions of 18 popular mobile apps, including CM Browser. The study found that CM Browser requested sensitive phone- and SMS-related permissions that allowed the browser to monitor the phone's outbound calls. A representative for CM Browser responded that the browser needed to determine whether a phone call is active in order to prevent interference when the browser is playing audio. The representative indicated that CM Browser would be updated to address the privacy concerns.

In February 2020 all of Cheetah's applications have been pulled from the Play Store. Following that, Forbes exposed the company's practices of spying on its users based on a report published by Gabriel Cirlig, a security researcher. The report detailed how CM Browser was sending encrypted data to its Chinese servers exfiltrating the URLs visited by all its users and selling them to various third parties.

Ban in India

In June 2020, the Government of India banned CM Browser along with 58 other Chinese origin apps, citing data and privacy concerns. The border tensions in 2020 between India and China might have also played a role in the ban.

See also

• 360 Secure Browser
• QQ browser

References

1. "【79核】猎豹安全浏览器8.0论坛版 它来了！" [ Cheetah Safe Browser 8.0 Forum Edition is here!]. Kingsoft Internet Security Anti-Virus Forum (in Chinese). 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
2. "猎豹浏览器-能抢火车票、能看片的极速浏览器" [Cheetah Browser - a speedy browser that can grab train tickets and watch movies]. App Store (in Chinese). 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
3. "CM Browser - Ad Blocker, Fast Download, Privacy". Google Play Store. 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
4. (in Chinese)Cheetah safe browsing organ network promotion
5. 【Cheetah mobile version is coming! !】(in Chinese)
6. 胡晓; 陈健. 猎豹浏览器过滤优酷广告案终审判决：前者被罚30万元 [Cheetah browser filter Youku advertising case final judgment: the former was fined 300,000 yuan]. People's Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-05-09.
7. "直击|消保委通报猎豹自动开隐私权限 猎豹：立即整改" [Direct attack | Consumer Protection Committee reports that Cheetah automatically opens privacy permissions; Cheetah: immediate rectification]. Sina Technology (in Chinese). 28 November 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
8. 猎豹浏览器能监听外拨电话？沪消保委：应用评测显示个人信息遭泄露 [Can the Cheetah browser monitor outbound calls? Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee: application evaluation shows that personal information has been leaked]. Xinmin Evening News (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-05-09.
9. "Warning: An Android Security App With 1 Billion Downloads Is Recording Users' Web Browsing". Forbes. March 3, 2020.But the research, carried out by Gabi Cirlig, a researcher at cybersecurity company White Ops, comes after previous allegations of potential privacy issues with Cheetah’s apps.
10. "India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Helo, WeChat". The Economic Times. July 3, 2020.
11. "Full list of 59 Chinese apps banned by Indian govt". ThePrint. June 29, 2020.

External links

• Official website

• Web browsers
• Windows web browsers
• IOS web browsers
• Android web browsers