A day after the government banned on 59 Chinese apps, Indians are scouring for alternatives to these prohibited foreign apps. One such social platform is Chingari that is fast becoming the desi alternative to the Chinese app, Tik Tok.
Sumit Ghosh, Cofounder and Chief of Product and Growth on the video-based app that already has over 2.5 million users, reveals, "The app garnered about 500,000 downloads in just about 72 hours in the second week of June."
Launched in 2018, Chingari also allows a user to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content, browse through feed, and share the content WhatsApp status, Videos, Audio clips, GIF stickers, and photos.
The app is available in English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. A few followers give us a gist about their user experience: Delhi-based Neha Bahari (33), who runs boutique agency, Bconnect Communication, got to know about Chingari online.
"I was using this app even before the government banned Tik Tok. I have been on Tik Tok, but Chingari offers more features. Along with video making, it has options like music, news and games. Instead of downloading games on your smartphone, you can download this app and play games on it. I also make videos on it with my 1.5- year toddler, which is fun," Bahari said.
21-year-old Aniket Krishnatray, a BTech final year student, downloaded the app when he got to know about the clash between Indian and Chinese armies. "Chingari has a segregated section, and based on your requirement you can consume the videos. I love to read and watch the news on it. Tik Tok users don’t have to be sad because it has all features available on the app. Moreover, Tik Tok was a very basic app, and had a lot of cringeworthy content," Aniket said.
27-year-old Aditi Manchanda, an IT professional, has been using Chingari for over a year. She got to know about it from her influencer friends. “I basically use it to watch the content created by my friends and sometimes chat and play games with my friends, too. I feel Chingari happens to be better than Tik Tok, which I just an Instagram of videos,” she adds.