The Rise And Rise Of Indian Short-Video Apps

With TikTok definitively out of the short-video game in India, homegrown apps — like Josh, MX TakaTak, Moj and more — have taken over the country’s social media landscape. A year on, have they filled the Chinese giant’s boots?

- Jessica Xalxo

The first video that pops up when I open Moj, one of the top five social apps on the Indian Google Play Store, is a clip of a girl intoning a Hindi couplet. “Jeeb jalne pe chai nahi chhodi jaati, toh dil jalne pe ishq kahaan se chhod denge (Just as one doesn’t abandon a cup of tea that burns their tongue, so must heartbreak not stop one’s endeavor to love,)” performs digital creator Aisha Kashyap. It’s romantic/life advice that’s best taken with a pinch of salt, but it’s also one of the many popular videos powering Indian social media 2.0, a chapter that has witnessed the rise of homegrown short-video apps.

Shortly after India’s infamous June 2020 TikTok ban*, the country’s social media landscape signaled an opportune moment for market players, existing and new, to capture the stage.

*In light of India’s (ongoing) border tensions with China, the Ministry of Information Technology invoked section 69A to block 59 Chinese apps. Citing concerns over sovereignty, integrity and defense of the country, as well as security of state, public order and privacy considerations, the government would go on to block 208 more apps (including clones) between July to December, 2020.