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<ul><li><keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> has spent 65% of its total Facebook ad spends transactions in the last 90 days.</li><li>The company aims to close 2021 with 100 million users registered to the platform, Koo co-founder said.</li><li>Koo currently has over 14 million app downloads, a 10x increase since September last year.</li></ul>Social media app Koo started with a big bang, garnering interest from users, investors and in some cases even government officials. The company sprung up in March 2020 as Twitter’s Indian alternative and started gaining momentum in June last year, as relations between Twitter and the Indian government started straining. After 18 months, 14 million downloads and $34 million (₹255 crore) in fundraising, Koo is now splurging on Facebook ads to get more users on board and take on Twitter that has <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/242606/number-of-active-twitter-users-in-selected-countries/">22 million</a> users in India. The company has spent a little over ₹2.4 crore on Facebook ads in the last 90 days, according to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&amp;country=IN&amp;view_all_page_id=101044114877636&amp;search_type=page&amp;media_type=all">Facebook Ad Library</a>. That’s ₹80 lakh a month and ₹2.6 lakh a day, making Koo the top spender on Facebook in the last three months. These ads were run across Facebook-owned platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and its audience network. Interestingly, this is 65% of the total marketing expense (₹3.7 crore) Koo has made on the Facebook app since its inception in March 2020. It seems to be working because the Koo app was downloaded over 3.3 million times between July 8 to October 5, as per App Annie report accessed by Business Insider. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Timeline </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ad spent </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">App Downloads </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">March 2020-October 5, 2021 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3.78 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">14.3 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 90 days (July 8-October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2.4 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3.3 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 30 days (September 6 - October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹78 lakh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 7 days (September 29 - October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹12.7 lakh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">230,000 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> The app was downloaded 3.5 million times between July 1 to October 5, which is 5 lakh lower than April to June quarter. Please note that not all these downloads were generated through ads, some of them maybe organic as well. <div type="image" title="Koo is spending ₹2.6 lakh a day on Facebook to beat Twitter" msid="86868782" hostid="261"></div> Koo was co-founded by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, who previously founded a Q&amp;A platform Vokal. The company wa founded to enable Indian users to converse freely in their local languages, which is not that widespread on Twitter. Koo currently has over 1.43 crore (or 14 million) downloads on its app, as per the App Annie analysis. This represents over 10 times increase from 17 lakh (1.7 million) downloads in September last year. The company, however, has set up higher targets for itself. “Our objective is to be extremely inclusive as a product and as a philosophy, so that every Indian is comfortable voicing their opinions. We want to get to 250 million users a month. We want to reach 100 million users by the end of the year, and I am as confident as an entrepreneur can be that we will reach there,”<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/ad-tech/article/i-am-confident-we-will-get-to-100-million-users-by-the-end-of-this-year-mayank-bidawatka-koo/articleshow/81210997.cms"> Bidawatka told</a> Business Insider earlier in February this year. As a part of its strategy, Koo is available in 10 local languages — Hindi, English, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, among others. It plans to add 15 more languages to its platform to attract more customers. The company is backed by the who's who of the tech world including Tiger Global, Mirae Asset Capital, Coinbase’s former chief technology officer (CTO) Balaji S. Srinivasan, Ashish Hemrajani of BookMyShow, Vivekananda Hallekere of Bounce and Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath. Koo is currently available in India as well as Nigeria, which banned Twitter earlier this year. Some prominent Indian personalities using Koo app are Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tata-sons-buy-air-india-for-2-39-billion-from-the-indian-government/articleshow/86867529.cms">Tata Sons buys ‘Maharaja’ for $2.39 billion from the Indian government</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-announces-cashback-of-6000-free-one-time-screen-replacement-on-purchase-of-new-devices/articleshow/86865821.cms">Airtel announces cashback of ₹6,000, free one-time screen replacement on purchase of new devices</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tata-motors-titan-ongc-bandhan-bank-and-bosch-stand-out-this-week-with-over-10-rallies/slidelist/86866914.cms">Tata Motors, Titan, ONGC, Bandhan Bank and Bosch stand out this week with over 10% rallies</a>

Koo is spending ₹2.6 lakh a day on Facebook to beat Twitter

<ul><li><keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> is a microblogging platform and is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali and Malayalam.</li><li>The barely 10-month old app Koo has now crossed over 3 million downloads, registering a 10X growth since December, 2020.</li><li><keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> users are jumping on to the Made in India app Koo, as they dismiss the Jack Dorsey-led global social media giant over its recent controversies with the Indian government.</li></ul>The one app that everyone’s talking about on Twitter today is its Indian alternative Koo. India’s Hindu right wing upped its ante against Twitter, with #BanTwitter, they promoted the homegrown alternative, Koo, which led to a windfall. The barely 10-month old app Koo has now crossed over 3 million downloads, registering a 10X growth since December, 2020. Enjoying their moment in the sun are founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, co-founders of Koo, which is a microblogging platform and is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali and Malayalam. <div type="image" title="koo" msid="80788103" hostid="261"></div> It’s hockey stick for both Twitter and Koo The recent standoff between Twitter and the Indian government, which wanted the social media giant to ban <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/twitter-accounts-block-govt-notice-khalistan-sympathiser-pakistan-7179728/">certain handles</a>, has become a bane for Jack Dorsey and a boon for Koo. Twitter declined the Indian government’s request to ban certain handles of journalists, activists as doing so “"would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law". Soon after, country’s top ministers like Piyush Goyal to bollywood actors like Anupam Kher and Kangana Ranaut, hundreds of verified profiles on Twitter are jumping on to the Made in India app Koo. “Last few days we have seen a hockey stick growth, we have got more users than we expected. It was unplanned, sudden and it’s very overwhelming but we are happy that people are willing to try out this Indian product,” said Bidawatka in an interview to Business Insider in the middle of what he describes a crazy day. <div type="twitter" handle="PiyushGoyal" handlename="Piyush Goyal" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1242114357682515971/x6zWYqzZ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="13089" retweetcount="3572" status="I am now on Koo. Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting and exclusive upd… https://t.co/L09sLRtzDM" createdat="1612859791000" id="1359058583934013442"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="KanganaTeam" handlename="Kangana Ranaut" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1328363769848709120/RYB3_4Fd_normal.jpg" favoritecount="6829" retweetcount="1526" status="Your time is up @Twitter time to shift to #kooapp will inform everyone soon about my account details there. Absolu… https://t.co/lJNwf0zWh8" createdat="1612953243000" id="1359450551126269952"></div> And the <keyword id="10739078" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Koo-founders">Koo founders</keyword>, who admire Twitter’s product, found their app as one of the top trends on Twitter. “It's unfortunate that certain events have unfolded and you know, that things are being questioned. The fact that we can trend on that platform shows how democratic that platform is,” said Bidawatka. Both Bidawatka and Radhakrishna ⁠— are serial entrepreneurs, the latter having previously founded TaxiForSure and sold it to the unicorn Ola⁠— were always working on an Indian alternative to Twitter. But they didn’t think the opportunity would emerge out of a controversy. <div type="image" title="Koo2" msid="80788255" hostid="261"></div> A few months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had mentioned Koo in his monthly address to the people. That brought the first big wave of users to the platform. Listen to this podcast with the founders of Koo, recorded after they won the Atmanirbhar app challenge by the Indian government in August, 2020. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> While they admired Twitter for the product that it was, the founders saw an opportunity. “Indians that don't speak in English were not well represented there, for example, there were very few Kannada, Tamil, tweets. Nothing close to the potential of our internet using population. We wanted to build an immersive experience on the product,” he said. The two men also run Vokal, a vernacular question and answer knowledge sharing app, they understood the languages space and found experts on their platform still missing a place to express their thoughts. “We know the vernacular story and power of Indian languages. The microblogging format is very all encompassing, it's easy to create and consume,” said Bidawatka. And that’s how Koo was formed. Koo also raised $4.1 million as part of its Series A funding recently from 3one4 Capital, Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures and Dream Incubator. While the valuation of the company, remains undisclosed, Bidawatka said they found the right set of investors who believe in their product, even if it's just 10-month old. And as users keep pouring into Koo, the 40-member team is on overdrive to keep things running. Even while there are teething issues, like every small company has. “We are dealing with the scale that has been thrown at us,” he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/what-happens-if-the-government-bans-cryptocurrencies-should-i-sell-bitcoin-checkout-experts-views/articleshow/80782941.cms">“Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?” and other questions answered on India’s proposed Crypto Ban bill</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-is-considering-four-day-work-weeks-but-with-longer-hours/articleshow/80763247.cms">India is considering four-day work weeks but with longer shifts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/what-is-facial-recognition-technology-and-how-india-is-using-it-to-track-down-protestors-and-individuals/articleshow/80782606.cms">India is ramping up the use of facial recognition to track down individuals without any laws to keep track of how this technology is being used</a>

Twitter’s Indian rival Koo has crossed 3 million downloads as ministers and actors got down to promoting it⁠— the founders are ecstatic

Homegrown micro-blogging platform <keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> on Tuesday said that it has laid off 15 employees, or 5 per cent of its workforce, and not 40 as earlier reported in the media. In a fresh statement to IANS, the Twitter rival said that 15 positions "have been made redundant or removed due to performance issues". "This is completely aligned with the industry standards of hiring and retrenchment. At the same time, Koo continues to hire talent in its monetisation, product and engineering teams," a company spokesperson said. The additional hires, said Koo, will help it gear up for the next phase of growth and monetisation. Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder and CEO, Koo, was recently in London for an industry event for Indian entrepreneurs. The company spokesperson said that she "did not meet any funders or high net worth individuals (HNIs) in London and did not engage in any fundraising activity". Koo has raised $44.1 million to date. The company said it is "well capitalised, is focused on growth and enhancing innovation, driving digital inclusion and attaining 100 million downloads". Launched in March 2020, Koo is currently available in 10 languages -- Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali and English. According to the platform, it has over 45 million downloads and is actively leveraged by 7,000 high-profile people from across the spectrum. Koo is backed by <keyword id="526777" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tiger-global" source="Orion">Tiger Global</keyword> and early stage investors like Accel, <keyword id="1397792" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kalaari-capital" source="Orion">Kalaari Capital</keyword>, Blume Ventures and Dream incubator. In February this year, Koo raised $10 million through Indian family offices. The investors included Capsier Venture Partner, <keyword id="13085219" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ravi-modi-family-trust" source="Orion">Ravi Modi Family Trust</keyword>, <keyword id="2988161" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ashneer-grover" source="Orion">Ashneer Grover</keyword>, FBC Venture Partners, <keyword id="14870685" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="adventz-finance" source="Orion">Adventz Finance</keyword> etc, according to regulatory filings. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/explained-whats-the-ethereum-merge-and-how-it-can-change-eth-value/articleshow/94020891.cms">Explained: What’s the Ethereum Merge and how it can change Eth value</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/22-engineers-officers-found-guilty-in-lucknow-hotel-fire-probe/articleshow/94018692.cms">22 engineers, officers found guilty in Lucknow hotel fire probe</a>

Homegrown Twitter rival Koo says laid off 15 employees, not 40

Homegrown Twitter rival <keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> has laid off at least 40 people, mostly from its operations and backend teams, and the micro-blogging platform said on Thursday that it is realigning its workforce aceto the current business requirements". The development was first reported by leading startup news portal Inc42, which said that Koo CEO <keyword id="1063285" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aprameya-radhakrishna" source="Orion">Aprameya Radhakrishna</keyword> is currently abroad, seeking a fresh round of funding. A Koo spokesperson told IANS thatAthe platform is at a phase of rapid growth as it steers digital inclusion for native language speakers. "We recently attained a major milestone of 45 million downloads, growing 10x in the last 2 months. The growth that we are witnessing in our business is reflected in our employee strength of 350+ people strong," said the spokesperson. Koo, which is aiming to reach the 100 million-download mark, said that it continues to "recruit talent especially as far as engineering and machine learning teams are concerned". "Our workforce is streamlined to ensure it is aligned to the current business requirements. As a people-first company, we appreciate the talent and contributions of each of our associates," the spokesperson added. Launched in March 2020, Koo is currently available in 10 languages -- Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali and English. According to the platform, it has over 45 million downloads and is actively leveraged by 7,000 high-profile people from across the spectrum. In February this year, Koo raised nearly $10 million in two different trances from multiple investors. The investors included Capsier Venture Partner, Ravi Modi Family Trust, <keyword id="2988161" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ashneer-grover" source="Orion">Ashneer Grover</keyword>, FBC Venture Partners, Adventz Finance etc, according to regulatory filings. Last year, Koo raised its Series B funding from <keyword id="526777" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tiger-global" source="Orion">Tiger Global</keyword>, Accel Partners, and Blume Ventures. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/spicejet-involved-in-another-security-scare-nashik-bound-flight-returns-to-delhi-as-autopilot-system-malfunctions/articleshow/93920402.cms">SpiceJet involved in another security scare – Nashik-bound flight returns to Delhi as autopilot system malfunctions</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/tejas-mark-2-project-reportedly-approved-by-the-cabinet-committee-on-security/articleshow/93920034.cms">Tejas Mark-2 project reportedly approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security</a>

Homegrown Twitter rival Koo lays off 40 employees in 'realignment' move

<ul><li>Koo, an Indian alternative to Twitter, is reportedly exposing personal data of users.</li><li>A French security researcher, Robert Baptiste (@fs0c131y), has posted his findings on Twitter.</li><li>Koo has found support from India’s Hindu right wing, railway minister Piyush Goyal, and PM Modi.</li><li>Baptiste has, in the past, exposed security flaws in the Aarogya Setu app.</li></ul><keyword id="9550495" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Koo-App">Koo app</keyword> 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 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-are-the-privacy-issues-in-aarogya-setu-indias-covid-19-tracker-app-alleged-by-french-hacker-elliot-alderson/articleshow/75592800.cms">Aarogya Setu app</a>, which the Indian authorities have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/aarogya-setu-claims-its-app-is-secure-denies-privacy-breach/articleshow/75569270.cms">vehemently refuted.</a> He posted his findings on Twitter, including screenshots of the code he analyzed. <div type="twitter" handle="fs0c131y" handlename="Elliot Alderson" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/991657715192750081/tQymlTdJ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7385" retweetcount="3592" status="You asked so I did it. I spent 30 min on this new Koo app. The app is leaking of the personal data of his users: em… https://t.co/bwYznLDlv5" createdat="1612982634000" id="1359573825579548674"></div> 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 <a href="https://twitter.com/aprameya/status/1359501894779953158">said</a>, 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’. <div type="twitter" handle="aprameya" handlename="Aprameya R" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/772832843982475265/NX-Wj-Mo_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1258" retweetcount="309" status="Some news about data leaking being spoken about unnecessarily. Please read this:The data visible is something tha… https://t.co/UgDtCnvNUH" createdat="1613026723000" id="1359758747405438977"></div> 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. <div type="twitter" handle="PiyushGoyal" handlename="Piyush Goyal" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1242114357682515971/x6zWYqzZ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="13495" retweetcount="3693" status="I am now on Koo. Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting and exclusive upd… https://t.co/L09sLRtzDM" createdat="1612859791000" id="1359058583934013442"></div> 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 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitter-indian-rival-koo-has-crossed-3-million-downloads-as-ministers-and-actors-got-down-to-promoting-it-the-founders-are-ecstatic/articleshow/80788087.cms">3 million downloads</a> now, registering 10x growth since December, 2020. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitter-indian-rival-koo-has-crossed-3-million-downloads-as-ministers-and-actors-got-down-to-promoting-it-the-founders-are-ecstatic/articleshow/80788087.cms">Twitter’s Indian rival Koo has crossed 3 million downloads as ministers and actors got down to promoting it⁠— the founders are ecstatic</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/what-happens-if-the-government-bans-cryptocurrencies-should-i-sell-bitcoin-checkout-experts-views/articleshow/80782941.cms">“Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?” and other questions answered on India’s proposed Crypto Ban bill</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-is-considering-four-day-work-weeks-but-with-longer-hours/articleshow/80763247.cms">India is considering four-day work weeks but with longer shifts</a>

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

<ul><li>Indian government has banned over 250 <keyword id="6022999" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chinese-apps">Chinese apps</keyword> over the last year, due to the geopolitical crisis with the neighbouring country.</li><li>The ban on Chinese apps impacted the short video segment the most, as it found itself in a void with the absence of top two players in the segment.</li><li>While many alternatives have emerged to give a tough competition to <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword>, any real competition to PUBG still does not exist.</li></ul>You can now find Vassundhara Pandita, a former TikTok creator, entertaining about 4.5 million users on <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>’s Sharechat-owned Moj app. Just like her, thousands of Indian creators have set their camps on different short video apps that came into existence in the past one year, after the government of India decided to ban <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/checkout-the-name-of-the-chinese-banned-apps-in-india/articleshow/76696132.cms">59 Chinese apps</a> on this day (June 29). The banned apps not only included TikTok, the biggest short video platform in the world with a user base of 200+ million in India alone, but its alternatives Likee and Vigo as well. Vigo was owned by TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance that was supposed to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/ad-tech/news/bytedance-shuts-down-vigo-video-in-india-to-focus-on-other-businesses/articleshow/76382018.cms">shut by October 2020</a> to direct users towards TikTok, but all these efforts were futile. This is how TikTok creators’ hunt began to find the perfect Indian alternative that would help them continue entertaining millions of users and keep the flow of income running. But the first priority on the list was to redirect their followers to other social media platforms, most popularly <keyword id="819905" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Instagram">Instagram</keyword>. “I had to make short videos on my TikTok and YouTube [channels] to direct my followers to my Instagram handle,” says Vassundhara, who had more than five million followers on TikTok and goes by the username ‘@__vassundhara__’ on Instagram. As expected, Vassundhara and many other creators did lose their followers in this reshuffle, but thankfully finding the next stage turned out to be a little simpler. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:18pt;margin-bottom:6pt;">Indian digital businesses fill up TikTok void</h2> Well established digital businesses were already on to finding their way to dominate the Indian short video platform, which was suddenly left with a void with the exit of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/slideshows/top-ten-most-downloaded-apps-in-india/slidelist/72977234.cms">top two players </a>-- TikTok and Likee From Sharechat to Dailyhunt, MXPlayer, Gaana, Zee5, you name it and they were already set to launch their Made-In-India offering. A few months later, even YouTube and Instagram decided to grab on to this opportunity and launch their respective hypershots entertainment offering in India. So, the competition was on and it was a pretty hot one. But Indian platforms did fairly well for themselves in this highly competitive market. Just like TikTok, many of these Indian alternatives have set a monetisation practice in place for these creators. Each creator on these platforms, with a specific number of followers and reach, is paid a certain undisclosed amount. Besides this, they are also allowed to take any paid promotional partnerships in their personal capacity without having to share their income with the platforms. There are only three shortcomings to the Indian alternatives at the moment. First, the limited market compared to TikTok that had its presence across the globe. Second, the limited market is further divided among the rival brands. Third, the not-so-great technological innovation and user-experience. While Instagram may have these problems figured out by integrating Reels into their image and video app. However, it is not a great offering in terms of the monetisation aspect. It was much easier for a content to blow up on TikTok, given its artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. It also offered more in-depth insights into the audience. On the other hand, it is much more difficult to blow up content on Instagram. “Instagram has its plus points, but it's not offering much payout to influencers at the moment… Also Instagram, I think, is focusing on a more lavish life and a glamorous one with money. Unlike TikTok, we see only one or two videos from the rural parts of India on Instagram. Moj and other Indian apps, and even TikTok for instance, push such contents as well,” Vassundhara added. However, the Indian alternatives have replaced TikTok in the eyes of content creators at least. “If TikTok comes back to India, creators will still take some time to move to the platform. As you know, a lot of controversies have happened around TikTok in India like the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/carryminati-amir-siddiqui-youtube-vs-tiktok-6411239/">YouTube roast </a>or questions over its Chinese origin. People will take some time to understand this. By the time, creators will start going back to Moj or any other platform that may establish dominance,” Vassundhara said, adding the platform offers fair income to the creators from their end. Notably, TikTok may to make a comeback to the Indian market soon, as it has <a href="https://theprint.in/tech/tiktok-definitely-hopeful-india-ban-will-be-lifted-in-talks-with-govt-to-resume-operations/683916/">reportedly</a> started discussions with the government once again. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:18pt;margin-bottom:6pt;">India Yet To Find PUBG’s Alternative</h2>The Indian government’s attack on Chinese apps took down close to over 250 apps in the last one year. This also includes South Korean online multiplayer battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). PUBG had more than 175 million installations from India alone which accounted for 24% of the total installations worldwide. The ban on the online multiplayer battle royale game came due to its partnership with China-based Tencent Games. Tencent was PUBG Mobile’s licensed publisher in India. The duo ended their partnership in September 2020, and PUBG is now set to make a<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/battlegrounds-mobile-india-is-now-official-check-out-launch-date-downloads-and-more/articleshow/82427206.cms"> comeback</a> in India in a new avatar ‘BattleGrounds Mobile India’. The launch of BattleGrounds Mobile India may be subject to scrutiny as well, after a <a href="https://in.ign.com/battlegrounds-mobile-india/161110/news/battlegrounds-mobile-india-china-server-data-sharing-meity-government-meenakashi-lekhi">IGN India</a> report highlighted that the app was sending user data to China. Despite the spike in India’s e-sports segment over the last one year due to PUBG ban and Covid-19, there haven't been any direct replacements to PUBG Mobile India. Many users simply switched to the web version of the app, which was not banned. For PUBG Mobile India, Bengaluru-based nCore Games did come up with the one alternative -- Fearless And United Guards (FAUG) in September 2020. The company launched the beta version of the app earlier this week (June 27), but is yet to <a href="https://in.ign.com/fau-g-android/161446/feature/faug-team-deathmatch-map-gameplay-story-weapons-future-ncore-games">impress the Indian audience</a>. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:18pt;margin-bottom:6pt;">What other segments were disrupted due to the ban of Chinese apps?</h2> The ban on Chinese apps also promoted the Made-In-India sentiment that pushed users towards many Indian alternatives. For instance <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> and Tooter were the first to arrive as the alternatives to US-based microblogging website Twitter. While Tooter was lost in the crowd, Koo has managed to set itself to a better start, at least. The one-year-old app already has about a third (<a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/will-double-headcount-lot-of-headroom-for-growing-user-base-koo-121050900174_1.html#:~:text=Koo%20has%20about%2060%20lakh,base%20and%20burgeoning%20Internet%20adoption.">6 million</a>) of Twitter's 17 million users in India. It has also raised about<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-micro-blogging-app-koo-raises-30-million-by-tiger-global/articleshow/82965589.cms"> $34 million</a> to date from marquee investors like Tiger Global Management, Accel, Kalaari Capital, and more. The platform is set to accelerate even further amidst Indian government’s ongoing tussle with Twitter. It has also made an<a href="https://qz.com/africa/2024107/nigerian-government-moves-to-indian-app-koo-after-twitter-ban/"> entry</a> into Nigeria after the Nigerian government banned Twitter last week. Even Indian ministers have<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/it-minister-ravi-shankar-prasad-praises-koo-indias-alternative-to-twitter-950088.html"> praised</a> the app on many occasions. China-based document scanning and file storage app CamScanner, which found its biggest market in India with 100 million users, was also banned on June 29, last year. Since then, the app has been shadowed by another new popular option, Gurugram-based alternative Kaagaz Scanner. Launched in March 2020, the platform has over 5 million downloads and 1.7 million plus monthly active users. The platform has raised $575,000 last year from former <keyword id="6354512" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> vice-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan’s Axilor Ventures, Better Capital and Pravega Ventures. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/china-will-not-buy-iron-copper-aluminum-zinc-and-some-other-commodities-from-foreign-countries/articleshow/83565216.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">China has decided to take global commodity bulls by their horns ⁠— to protect the profit margins of its small businesses</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/soccers-most-expensive-young-player-missed-a-decisive-penalty-that-saw-reigning-world-champion-france-crash-out-of-euro-2020/articleshow/83940298.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Soccer's most expensive young player missed a decisive penalty that saw reigning world champion France crash out of Euro 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/coinbase-ceo-brian-armstrong-says-the-goal-is-for-the-crypto-exchange-to-list-every-asset-that-is-legally-possible/articleshow/83937379.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the goal is for the crypto exchange to list every asset that is legally possible</a>

One year of Chinese apps ban — Indian alternatives take over TikTok

Homegrown micro-blogging platform <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> on Wednesday said it has raised $30 million in Series B funding, led by Tiger Global. Koo has garnered nearly 60 lakh downloads in just a year of operations. "We have aggressive plans to grow into one of the world's largest social media platforms in the next few years. Every Indian is cheering for us to get there soon. Tiger Global is the right partner to have on board to realise this dream," said Aprameya Radhakrishna, <keyword id="170488" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="co-founder">Co-Founder</keyword> and CEO of Koo. Koo's existing investors <keyword id="144381" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Accel-Partners">Accel Partners</keyword>, <keyword id="1397792" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalaari-Capital">Kalaari Capital</keyword>, <keyword id="592779" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Blume-Ventures">Blume Ventures</keyword> and Dream Incubator also participating in the round. IIFL and Mirae Assets are other new investors who have come on board the cap table with this round, the company informed. Koo last week said it has met the compliance requirements of the new IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2021 ahead of its May 25 deadline set by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Koo said earlier this month announced to launch a unique feature that will help users speak and type messages without using the keyboard in regional languages, apart from English. Called 'Talk to Type,' the feature will help Koo users speak out their thoughts and the words will show up on the screen at the click of a button. Founded last year, the vernacular micro-blogging platform Koo crossed 60 lakh users within no time and aims to garner 10 crore users by the end of this year. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-moves-the-delhi-high-court-against-indias-new-it-laws-says-report/articleshow/82965251.cms">WhatsApp moves the Delhi High Court against India’s new IT laws, says report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/cyclone-yaas-will-unleash-its-fury-for-another-12-to-18-hours-after-making-landfall/articleshow/82964922.cms">Cyclone Yaas will unleash its fury for another 12 to 18 hours after making landfall</a>

India's micro-blogging app Koo raises $30 million led by Tiger Global

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> has been in a standoff in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> over censoring accounts amid huge anti-government protests.</li><li><keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>'s Government has backed <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword>, an app so similar to Twitter it even has a bird logo.</li><li>The "free expression" app, which has been accused of hosting hate speech, doesn't moderate content.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-government-attack-us-celebrities-backing-farmer-protests-burn-effigies-2021-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India's farmers' protests</a> put Twitter in a censorship standoff with the Indian Government, which reacted by backing "Koo", the app mimics tweets and says it has no plans to moderate its content.Koo is just 10 months old. But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-twitters-india-standoff-dragged-in-journalists-and-activists-2021-2">Twitter's refusal to block accounts supporting the protests outside Delhi </a>- where tens of thousands farmers have come to global attention in their bitter, at times violent, demonstrations against new agriculture laws - has been its making.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministers were among those encouraging people in the world's second-fastest growing internet economy to switch to Koo. It crossed more than 4.1 million downloads in two weeks in February and has secured $4.1 million in funding.Celebrities, politicians, and right-wing publications are now "Kooing". Even the yellow bird logo and the name - Koo is a bird's sound in Hindi - emphasize its desire to challenge Twitter. Some even cheekily used Tweets to announce their new Koo profiles."I am now on Koo," says <a href="https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal/status/1359058583934013442">the pinned tweet</a> of Piyush Goyal, India's minister of railways, commerce, and industry who has more than 9.5 million followers on Twitter. "Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting, and exclusive updates."According to mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower, Koo's downloads soared by 159.9% on February 9, the day Goyal endorsed it.This was on top of a 186.8% jump in downloads the previous day, triggered when Twitter published <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/tweet-withheld-by-country">a defiant response</a> to the government.<div type="image" title="Koo account" height="1200" width="1696" msid="81278576" hostid="261"></div>"We strongly believe that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact," Twitter wrote, "and that the Tweets must continue to flow." The surge put Koo at the top of the app charts. Koo was founded in the southern city of Bangalore by Aprameya Radhakrishna, who sold his cab-hailing startup for $200 million to Uber's biggest rival in India, and Mayank Bidawatka, a serial entrepreneur.At first glance, the similarities with Twitter are remarkable. Koo lets you follow people, read updates in a reverse-chronological feed, add and track hashtags, post a "Koo" in up to 350 characters, attach media, and respond to and like other people's Koos.But Koo has features, unavailable on Twitter, that are tailored to the Indian market. it is compatible with a handful of Indian languages and lets people filter out content by their chosen language, which helps in a country where only 10% of the population speaks English.<div type="image" title="Koo as it appears in the Google Play Store" height="1120" width="1434" msid="81278578" hostid="261"></div>It also has a dedicated button for forwarding "Koos" to WhatsApp, India's most popular messaging app.But arguably what truly sets this social network apart is its lack of content moderation. Its homepage invites people to "join India's best minds that speak their mind".Its founders say they won't govern their network the way the likes of Twitter and Facebook currently struggle to do. Instead, when Koo discovers any post that can be deemed unlawful, it will hand it over to the government for action."We don't govern. Why should we govern? It's a free-expression platform," <a href="https://restofworld.org/2021/how-koo-became-a-right-wing-darling-in-india/">Radhakrishna recently said</a>, "We're not the ones to take action. There's an elected government. Irrespective of who runs the government in the future ... If it's going to lead to violence, we'll cooperate with the government."The Indian government meanwhile has pulled out all the stops to make Twitter fall in line, with Koo effectively becoming a weapon in the fight. Twitter has since agreed to comply partially with India's banning order, suspending more than 500 accounts. Challenging Twitter is no easy feat - it has 340 million users worldwide. In late November, another Twitter-esque app called Tooter got a lot of attention. Its brash "About" page likened Twitter's dominance in India to the British Empire in the days before independence. But the absence of diverse voices meant its early adopters soon left.<div type="image" title="Koo homepage" height="1124" width="1800" msid="81278580" hostid="261"></div>Modi's government's endorsement of Koo has made it particularly inviting to India's right-wing and supporters of the governing party.Nikhil Pahwa, a digital rights activist and founder of tech policy publication MediaNama, posted on Koo about the internet shutdowns authorities imposed to disrupt the protests and was soon flooded with "hateful comments and responses," he told Insider. Pahwa said he found Koo's approach to moderating "extremely problematic." "To allow any platform that just gives a wholesale licence to the government to censor our speech is not a platform worth being on," he said. This has led many to draw parallels between Koo and <keyword id="9465142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="parler">Parler</keyword>, a US-based "free-speech social network" that grew after Twitter began censoring and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-twitter-ban-wont-be-lifted-if-runs-president-again-2021-2">eventually banned former President Donald Trump</a>.Radhakrishna has dismissed the comparison, telling tech blog Rest Of World that Parler was a "pro-Trump thing", adding, "We are existing today irrespective of whether Twitter gets into trouble or not, irrespective of one ideology being there or not. We exist because we want to give a voice to every Indian."But while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parler-website-is-back-online-2021-1">Parler has struggled</a>, Koo might thrive under India's current administration. Modi has made the "Make in India" campaign his party's centerpiece and has rolled out policies that promote domestic manufacturing and Indian startups.The government is reportedly developing a range of homegrown apps aimed at eventually replacing Western services like WhatsApp, Zoom, and of course, Twitter.China has already gone down this road with apps such as TikTok and WeChat. Will India follow? "I know that the Indian government has China envy," Pahwa said. "They want to exercise the kind of control that the Chinese government does over speech and over technology in its country. "But I sure hope India doesn't become like that."Koo did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

You Searched For "koo downloads" and got 8 results

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One year of Chinese apps ban — Indian alternatives take over TikTok

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India's micro-blogging app Koo raises $30 million led by Tiger Global

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Koo, the 'free expression' social media app, is the Indian government's latest weapon in its standoff with Twitter

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