French security researcher claims Twitter's desi rival Koo is 'leaking' personal data of users

• Koo, an Indian alternative to Twitter, is reportedly exposing personal data of users.
• A French security researcher, Robert Baptiste (@fs0c131y), has posted his findings on Twitter.
• Koo has found support from India’s Hindu right wing, railway minister Piyush Goyal, and PM Modi.
• Baptiste has, in the past, exposed security flaws in the Aarogya Setu app.

Koo app is reportedly exposing personal data of users, according to a French security researcher. Koo is a desi alternative to Twitter and allows its users to post short messages just like Twitter.

According to Robert Baptiste who goes by the pseudonym Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y), Koo is exposing sensitive user information like email address, date of birth, gender and marital status.

Baptiste has, in the past, exposed flaws in various government apps and websites, including the government-mandated Aarogya Setu app, which the Indian authorities have vehemently refuted.

He posted his findings on Twitter, including screenshots of the code he analyzed.


According to him, Koo has a domain registered in the US, but the registrant of the domain is based in China. The founders recently admitted to having a Chinese investor who, they said, would be bought out.

We have reached out to Koo for a comment on the matter and will update the story with their statement when we receive it.

Koo’s co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna took to Twitter to downplay the ‘leak’.


Koo is being backed by Indian ministers as an alternative to Twitter

Koo has gained popularity of late after India’s ministers and pro-government activists started a #BanTwitter campaign on Twitter. They also started promoting Koo, which also saw Indian ministers like Piyush Goyal chip in with a tweet nudging his followers to join him on the app.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi also promoted Koo in one of his monthly addresses to the people. The app also won the government’s Digital India AtmaNirbhar Bharat Innovate Challenge in 2020.

The 10-month-old app has over 3 million downloads now, registering 10x growth since December, 2020.

SEE ALSO:
Twitter’s Indian rival Koo has crossed 3 million downloads as ministers and actors got down to promoting it⁠— the founders are ecstatic
“Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?” and other questions answered on India’s proposed Crypto Ban bill
India is considering four-day work weeks but with longer shifts