INTERNET giant Baidu will shut its mobile device management tool 91 Assistant at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 27, drawing a line under a US$1.9 billion acquisition from the jailbreak era of China’s mobile internet 12 years ago as official app stores have eclipsed third‑party marketplaces.

91 Assistant, which ran on both PCs and smartphones, will cease all services, including phone connection management, file transfer, app installation and uninstallation, and system cleaning. The platform urged users to back up their data before the deadline, warning that any data left on 91 Assistant will be permanently lost and unrecoverable. Users with active memberships can apply for refunds.

Baidu acquired 91 Wireless, the parent company of 91 Assistant, in 2013 for US$1.9 billion as part of its mobile strategy — a deal that at the time surpassed many high‑profile internet investments, including Yahoo’s US$1 billion investment in Alibaba Group Holding in 2005.

By 2013, 91 Assistant had more than 100 million users on iOS and Android, and 91 Wireless’s distribution platform had logged over 10 billion downloads.

91 Wireless rose to prominence as China’s largest iOS jailbreak platform, a service that allowed users to bypass Apple’s restrictions to install modified or paid apps without authorization. The company monetized its user base through advertising, game partnerships and other channels.

Over time, as Apple’s App Store and manufacturers’ own Android app stores matured and became more user‑friendly, demand for third‑party tools like 91 Assistant declined. In February 2020 Baidu announced it would stop supporting uploads and management for 91 Assistant and the Android Market app packages, although some services remained operational.

That same month Hangzhou‑based Alibaba shuttered PP Assistant, a similar app‑download platform; its iOS, PC and related services went permanently offline in February 2020.

(SD-Agencies)