Since the ban of TikTok, several homegrown apps have tried to enthrall Indian user base with a short video format social media platform. Roposo, a leading one of these, has now crossed 100 million users on the Play Store.
Roposo
With the impressive number of downloads, Roposo claims to be the first and only Indian short video app to reach this milestone. The huge number of downloads is also a testimony to the increasing demand for made in India apps by the Indian user base.
Apart from the number of downloads, the app marks another major milestone for its parent firm. Glance, the company that owns Roposo, has reached 100 million daily active users earlier in May 2020. You might remember Glance as the lockfeed platform which delivers AI-driven personalized content on the lock screen.
TikTok alternative Roposo has crossed 100 million downloads on Google Play Store
Glance now claims to have two of the largest content platforms in the country that are completely made in India and collectively reach 40% of India’s smartphone users.
As for Roposo, the inclusion of 12 Indian languages on the app has resulted in more than 2 billion video views on the app per day.
Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO of InMobi Group, commented on the milestone, saying “Between Glance and Roposo, we have two of the largest #MadeInIndia platforms that collectively reach 40% of India’s smartphone users. We hope to build upon this success and help establish India as a major digital hub alongside the US and China.”
Rise of Indian apps
Following the tumultuous relations between India and China, India’s MeitY banned the use of 59 Chinese apps within the country back in June this year. The order by MeitY clarified that the Chinese apps “are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. TikTok was the most widely used app in the list.
(Representative Image: Reuters)
Since the ban, Indian counterparts of the short video app began to make their way on the Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store in India. Other than Roposo, Chingari and Mitron are some of the alternatives of the app that saw a massive increase in traction following the ban.
By the first week of July, Chingari was clocking one lakh downloads per hour through the Google Play Store. Facebook-owned Instagram also started testing its ‘Reels’ feature for short videos in India, only to launch it in the country soon after.
TikTok, however, might not remain banned from the country altogether. Having broken off its Chinese ties, the company is now looking to enter the Indian app market again by collaborating with an Indian partner. Reliance Industries Limited was reported to be one of the frontrunners for the same.