Tirupur: The home-grown social media app 'CHILL 5' is filling the void created in India after the ban of hugely popular video-sharing app Tik-Tok.
A group of youth from Tirupur have developed the app CHILL 5 to provide an alternative to the people addicted to Tik-Tok.
The app which is available on Google play store has witnessed a manifold increase in download by mobile users.
“We as a team are engaged in developing mobile apps since 2016. We were working on CHILL 5 since this January. Due to the lockdown imposed amid Corona pandemic, the app was not completed within the time frame. However, we were able to release it on Google Play Store on June 4. The initial response was not that encouraging. Later, the ban on Tik-Tok increased the number of downloads,” said Harish, a team member of the app.
The app similar to Tik-Tok is a competitor to other native apps like Mitron, Shikari, Instagram Reels.
The app was launched on June 4, a day before Tik-Tok was banned.
Tiktok was among the 59 Chinese mobile apps which were banned by the Union Information Technology Ministry on June 20.
‘CHILL 5’ aims at cornering a share of the market space occupied by the Chinese app.
Initially, the app was downloaded at the rate of 1000 users per day.
Explaining the salient features and safety measures of CHILL 5, he said that all the user data are being stored within the country adding that they have a protocol to filter out vulgarity and material bordering on pornography. TikTok had over 200 million users in India, as it had become especially popular in suburban India launching several people into overnight online fame.
“Nearly 12 crore Indians were active on TikTok and the prime reason was an unfettered flow of pornographic videos posted by those who craved for attention and money. Because TikTok was headquartered in China, effective steps were not taken to delete highly objectionable and voyeuristic videos. CHILL5 has a protocol to effectively deal with this issue,” he explained.
The team members expressed confidence that the app will bring Tirupur’s footprint in the domain of mobile technology.
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