How with TikTok gone, short-format video apps are struggling with monetisation

After the Indian government banned short-format video app TikTok on June 29, a string of strikingly similar apps cropped up. That apart, Facebook’s Instagram launched Reels for the Indian market in early July, and YouTube introduced its own TikTok rival — Shorts — in September.

Before it was banned, TikTok had about 200 million users in India and 120 million monthly active users (MAUs). The void left by TikTok has resulted in its users and content creators scrambling to find the next best alternative, resulting in the fragmentation of the app’s user base. Consequently, advertisers who relied on TikTok to reach a wide audience have all but exited the short-format video space.