TikTok's ban in India came as a surprise to many of its users, but the anti-China sentiment attached to the move made people accept the government's decision. Soon after the announcement, there were many made-in-India clone apps to fill the void left by TikTok in India. Many major players took this opportunity to scale up their efforts in the short video app space and we've seen entrants like Roposo, Mitron, Moj, MX TakaTak, and many more.
Joining the growing bandwagon, Goldman Sachs-backed Dailyhunt launched Josh, replicating TikTok and offering it in 14 languages, shot to fame. According to Sensor Tower data, Josh has already surpassed 5 million downloads in a matter of days. The app was launched on July 4.
"Departure of TikTok has created FOMO (fear of missing out) among growth stage companies in the content space. Although they all are shooting in the dark as no one knows how long the ban will last, short video apps are offering temporary momentum," one of the venture capitals who didn't wish to be named, was quoted as saying.
India bans 59 Chinese apps
TikTok is one of the 59 Chinese apps banned by the Indian government citing security reasons in June. Millions of users who used the popular China app were quick to move to TikTok alternatives with Indian origin. Homegrown apps, like Mitron, Chingari, InMobi's Reposo and Instagram's latest feature Reel have replaced the Chinese video-sharing app for TikTokers as they are re-releasing their old videos on these platforms to retain their followers all around the world.
