Koo, made in India Twitter alternative, crosses 1 crore downloads in 18 months

New: Koo has crossed 1 crore installs since its launch in March 2020, the Microblogging platform announced on Thursday (August 26). Founded by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, Koo currently lets users express their views in 8 languages - Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bangla and English. 

The application witnessed a surge in downloads amid the brawl between Twitter and the Indian government over new IT rules. Between February and August 2021, Koo saw 85 lakh users (8.5 million) downloading the app, the company said in a statement. 

The microblogging platform has introduced a slew of features to enable more Indians, especially from Tier 2 and beyond cities, to engage in online conversations. The app shows its users with interests in their language, helping them in engaging within their communities.  

The homegrown application, which is seen as India’s answer to Twitter, has witnessed prominent faces from Bollywood, politics, sports, literature and journalism joining the social media platform in the past months. 

Bollywood actors such as Anupam Kher, Tiger Shroff and Kangana Ranaut, politicians such as Nitin Gadkari, Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot, and Yogi Adityanath, among others, have created their accounts on Koo. 

The platform also features sportspersons like Mohammed Shami, Wriddhiman Saha, Aakash Chopra, and Javagal Srinath, among others. A total of 14 chief ministers of Indian states have also joined the microblogging platform in the past few months. 

On crossing 1 crore installs, a Koo Spokesperson said that Koo was started with a dream to create a digital platform where millions of Indians could express themselves freely and share their thoughts in their preferred language. Also Read: ITR filing for FY 2020-21: Salaried people using ITR-1 SAHAJ must keep these 9 documents handy, here's your checklist

“Since we launched in March 2020, the response has been heartening. Koo has achieved 1 crore downloads now. Our growth in the future will be at an even faster pace than what we’ve experienced in the recent past. We are both humbled and excited to pave the way for homegrown digital companies to go global as India aspires to make the ‘Aatmanirbhar Digital India’ dream a reality and unite the country through technology and languages.” Also Read: Gold Price Today, 26 August 2021: Gold continues to fall for 2nd day, still cheaper by nearly Rs 9,100 from record highs