Free Fire ban update: Free Fire is still playable on Android phone, iPhone

The Indian government had banned Free Fire in India almost a month ago, alongside 53 Chinese apps. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had claimed that the banned apps were a threat to privacy and security to Indian citizens. The government has also said that these apps were transferring sensitive data of Indians to servers in foreign countries like China. As a result of the ban order, Free Fire was removed from Google Play Store and App Store. Despite the countrywide ban, you can play the game without using a VPN if you had Free Fire installed on your Android device or iPhone before it was removed from the app store.

How can you still play Free Fire in India?

Although you cannot officially download Free Fire in India, you can play the game as its servers are still up. You can easily queue up for a match in Free Fire with your friends or solo. The game is also running Assassin’s Creed crossover right now to promote the new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Dawn of Ragnarok DLC. It’s not surprising to see that the game’s servers are running, despite the ban. When PUBG Mobile was banned in September 2020, the game’s servers were available for two months until the end of October. While shutting down the servers, Tencent had made an official announcement via PUBG Mobile’s social media handle. Garena hasn’t made an official announcement about Free Fire’s servers yet.

How long can you play Free Fire in India?

It’s unclear how long Free Fire servers will be running in India. The game could be available for another month, similar to what happened with PUBG Mobile. As Free Fire Max isn’t banned in the country, many players may switch to the game as an alternative after Free Fire servers shut down. However, the game will not run well on low-end smartphones as it designed for high-end devices to offer better graphics.

After the PUBG Mobile ban, many players started using VPN to play the game. Likewise, Free Fire players could play the game using a VPN service when the game shuts down. Currently, it’s unknown whether the Free Fire ban is as strict as the one for TikTok. Just days after TikTok got banned in India, users were unable to access the app with a VPN as TikTok was being blocked using IP address and device ID. Even if you had masked the IP address with a VPN, the app didn’t work due to the device ID that was registered with TikTok.

Considering the Free Fire ban is in effect, the game’s servers are expected to shut down soon. It remains to be seen whether Free Fire Max continues to be available in India, as the game is already removed from the App Store. It’s quite likely that both games are transferring player data to the same servers, which may lead to Free Fire Max shutdown as well. Hopefully, Garena will clarify the status of Free Fire in India within the coming weeks.