Although Indian alternatives are available, Indians have an inclination towards foreign products. Same has been the situation with the short-video platform Chingari until the TikTok was banned. An Indian alternative to TikTok, Chingari witnessed a rapid growth within a short span after the ban of the TikTok. Within a few months, the app crossed the 30 Mn download mark.
In July, shortly after the TikTok ban, Chingari was downloaded 25 Mn times. Within 24 hours of TikTok’s ban, Chingari crossed 3.5 Mn downloads. It recently became one of the best entertainment applications in Google Play store with a four-star rating. The short-video platform is available in 10 languages including Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.
The app recently made headlines after introducing Augmented Reality (AR) filters. The feature can be accessed from both the front and rear cameras. Developers of Chingari claim that advanced technology is employed for the camera as well as audio and video editing tools. Moreover, the app has also inked a music licensing agreement with T-Series. Through this partnership, Chingari users settled in India, other SAARC nations as well as in the Middle East can access T-Series music collection.
“Instead of getting viral like the TikTok, Chingari’s priority is quantity and quality of content,” says founder and Chief Product Officer Sumit Ghosh. Sumit says that it is not the ban of TikTok, but the Make in India and Vocal for Local initiatives have made Chinkari a favourite of users. Along with Sumit, Biswatma Nayak and Deepak Salvi are the co-founders of Chingari.
Chingari entered Google Playstore in 2018. Within one year, it was launched in AppStore too, yet TikTok was posing a challenge. After the Chinese app got banned, Chingari rose to popularity and rebranded with new features in June 2020. Winning the Atma Nirbhar App challenge added to the app’s popularity. The features like video uploading, chatting with friends and sharing content have brought those sections of society who were frustrated with the TikTok ban closer to Chingari. A large percentage of Chingari users are between the age of 18 and 35. Apart from India, there is a huge increase in the number of users in the UAE, US, Kuwait, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Now is the time for our local startups like Chingari to rise to fame.
