AnTuTu is a famous benchmarking application for Android and is often a source for spotting unannounced devices whose scores leak through the app. However, Google has removed all three AnTuTu apps - Antutu 3DBench, Antutu Benchmark, and AITUTU Benchmark, from the Play Store. This is a part of the search giant’s efforts in removing apps associated with Cheetah Mobile, an infamous company known to have violated multiple Play Store policies in the past.
Cheetah Mobile reportedly owns a stake in AnTuTu, and as part of Google"s crackdown on apps owned or supported by that company, the benchmarking apps were removed from the Play Store. Interestingly, Cheetah Mobile"s website still lists some Android apps on the front page, with linking to the Play Store broken since the apps are no longer available.
As for AnTuTu, that app fell in trouble since the Tianyancha business database lists Fu Sheng as the chairman/manager of Beijing Antutu Technology Co., who also happens to be the CEO of Cheetah Mobile. In its defense, the benchmarking app maker issued a statement to AndroidPolice, clarifying that the removal of its apps is a misjudgment on Google"s part and that the mention of Fu Sheng as its chairman is due to the requirements of investors of Chinese companies wanting certain changes to the legal documents after having obtained a certain percentage of shares in a company.
AnTuTu’s complete statement is below:
We received a notification email from Google on March 7th informing us that AnTuTu was one of the related publisher accounts of Cheetah Mobile, all AnTuTu apps were removed from the Play Store. But in fact, We think there is some misunderstanding about it. Antutu is NOT the related account of Cheetah Mobile!!
AnTuTu was founded in 2011, even before Cheetah Mobile, and is one of the earliest Google Play developers. Cheetah Mobile invested in us in around 2014 and became one of our shareholders since then. However, we still retain a considerable account of shares and Independent operation of the company as well as our own independent Google Play account. Cheetah Mobile has never touched our Google Play account, and AnTuTu has NOT done any promotion of Cheetah Mobile"s software.
We believe that the reason for Google"s misjudgment is that we purchased and used the legal services from Cheetah Mobile, so our privacy policy link used the address of cmcm.com. This is what we are working on, including changing legal supplier.
Regarding Fu Sheng being the chairman / manager of Beijing AnTuTu Technology Co., Ltd., this is because of the requirements of the investors. In fact, many Chinese companies have such requirements when investing. When the shares reach a certain percentage, investors will require changes in government registration documents. The company is actually operated by Beijing AnTuTu Technology Co., Ltd. Henan Branch. (https://www.tianyancha.com/company/3222572910), and Fu Sheng does not actually participate in the operation or the management of AnTuTu. Anyway, we have informed the investor Cheetah Mobile asking them to solve these problems caused by them.
We hope that Google can examine AnTuTu"s account carefully and finally resolve this misunderstanding as soon as possible.
It will be interesting to see if Google agrees to review AnTuTu’s apps and republish them to the Play Store. However, in the interim, users will have to opt for other benchmarking applications such as Geekbench 5 or 3DMark.