NEW DELHI: After facing a huge drop in ratings, TikTok may have another big reason to worry in India. A rival app launched in April 2020 called Mitron has crossed over 50 lakh downloads and is among the top 10 most popular apps in the country right now on Google Play Store. The Mitron app is made by IIT-Roorkee alumnus Shivank Agarwal and his team based out of Bengaluru. Available free on Android, the app is a short video and social platform similar to TikTok. Users can create, edit and share videos as well as browse through videos across the countries. The app is self-funded and is presently available only on Android.
Mitron app has an overall rating of 4.7 from ratings given by over 2.3 lakh users. The interface of the app is also similar to that of TikTok. “Our mission at Mitron is to create a platform where people can come and entertain themselves with small videos posted by people across the globe and at the same time create a social incentive for people to share and create their own videos,” reads the app’s description on Google Play.
The timing of the Mitron could not have been better for the developers given the anti-TikTok sentiment going around in India. Users across India have called for the ban of TikTok and have downrated it on Google Play from 4.6 stars to under 2 stars. While Google has deleted scores of negative reviews that have helped TikTok to push up its ratings in India, the call for launching a made in India TikTok alternative seems to have worked in Mitron’s favour. For TikTok, India offers the largest user base outside China.