Why don’t India-developed apps go viral like TikTok? Here’s why

NEW DELHI: China’s ByteDance developed short video app TikTok, and in nine months from its September 2018 launch it attracted more than 200 million users in India, with a monthly active user base of around 120 million. ByteDance’s Helo and Vigo apps have 25-30 million users here. Globally, ByteDance has an user base of around one billion.

The closest an user-generated, content-based Indian app has come is ShareChat, with a daily active user base of around 40 million as of January 2019, as per company estimates.

Technology investors, industry observers and entrepreneurs ET spoke to posit three basic reasons why India doesn’t create apps that lead to hyperscale mass adoption.