How Indian short video apps performed a week after ban on TikTok, other Chinese apps

Soon after the ban on TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps by the Indian government on June 29, the alternate Indian apps, especially in the short video sharing category, have started gaining momentum. 

Over half a dozen Indian apps in the short video -- Roposo, Chingari, Trell, Mitron, TikTik, Moj -- registered a meteoric rise in the number of downloads in the first week of the announcement of the ban (between June 29 to July 5) on Chinese apps.

According to data sourced from Sensor Tower, Roposo recorded 6.7 million downloads and stood as the top downloaded short video app on the Google Play Store during the seven day period. Roposo was followed by Chingari which accumulated 4.12 million downloads. The much talked about app Mitron Tv, which recently raised its first venture funding round, amassed 3.1 million installs. 

Another Indian player Trell, which pivoted from a community-based platform to enabling lifestyle discovery through video-based content, garnered 2.6 million downloads during the period.

InMobi-owned Roposo has more than 50 million downloads till date of which 25 million came in 2019. The apps had a mere 1.2 million downloads in Q1 2020 which increased to 9 million downloads in Q2 2020. In June alone, Roposo grabbed 7.8 million downloads. Chingari and Mitron’s downloads in June stood at 5.3 million and 6.1 million respectively. 

The rapid surge in downloads in June and the first week of July was mainly due to anti-China sentiments and ban on Chinese apps as a result of a clash between Indian and China at the Galwan valley.

The race for becoming a desi version of TikTok also triggered deep-pocket players such as ShareChat to make a mark in the space. The Twitter-backed social media platform launched a short video sharing app Moj and received 2.4 million downloads, which is a decent volume for any newly launched app.

On July 7, Moj had crossed 10 million downloads whereas media reports suggested that Mitron has over 25 million downloads till date.

Some apps with names similar to TikTok such as TikTik India and TiK Kik also recorded 2.1 million and 2.7 million downloads on the Play Store between June 29 to July 5.

The short video apps ecosystem in India is growing rapidly as more players are showing interest. On Tuesday, Times Internet-backed music streaming app Gaana had also launched a TikTok-like platform called HotShots. Facebook-owned Instagram has also confirmed the testing of its video-sharing app Reels in India.