A day after India banned 59 Chinese mobile apps, including the highly popular TikTok, due to national security concerns, Indian alternatives are fast catching up among the populace.

Chingari, an Indian alternative to Chinese TikTok, has been trending on the top spot on Google Play Store since the latter's ban on Monday.

More than 3 million users have already downloaded Chingari, and it is witnessing nearly 100,000 downloads and over 2 million views per hour, according to Zee News India.

"Since the word spread that Indians now have a homegrown and more entertaining alternative to TikTok, we have been recording traffic beyond expectations on our app.

"As Chingari is setting new benchmarks, a lot of investors are showing interest in our app. We are holding crucial discussions to get a good investor(s) on board so as to scale up our free-of-cost social platform," Bengaluru-based programmer Biswatma Nayak, one of the app's co-founders, reportedly said in a statement.

The Indian app allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content, and also browse through feed. Users can also get creative with WhatsApp status, videos, audio clips, GIF stickers, and photos. They can also get paid on how viral their content becomes.

The app is available in English, Bangla, Punjabi and various Indian languages including Tamil, Gujarathi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu, in both Google Play Store, and Apple App Store.

The extent of the ban is yet to be known but analysts have said that up to a third of TikTok's global users are based in India.

Tensions are in all-time high between India and China following the deadly clashes between both militaries at a disputed Himalayan region earlier this month, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead, and scores of others injured. The number of Chinese casualties is yet to be known.

Besides TikTok, other popular Chinese apps banned by India include Helo, WeChat, Clash of Kings, and the UC Browser.

China has expressed concern over the Indian ban.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily news briefing on Tuesday that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses.

TikTik has come under scrutiny not only in India, but in the US, and Europe as well, where the company's data collection practices are being probed.


Source: Zee News India, Al Jazeera
Photo source: techcrunch.com, indianexpress.com