Highlights:
- ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok to shut its short video apps in India
- The two video apps are Vigo Video and Vigo Lite
- The company says it wants to invest focus and energy in other businesses
ByteDance, which is the parent company of TikTok has announced that it will shut 2 small video entertainment applications – Vigo Video and Vigo Lite – In India by the October of this year. The Chinese firm has shared the news in an online note stating that until then the users will be informed of the shutting down of the applications via “in-app notifications” in addition to the detailed instructions on downloading their private data or deleting their account permanently.
ByteDance also highlighted that with this decision the company will now invest its “energy and resources on other businesses”. The user will have the option to export their content on to TikTok, said ByteDance.
The Vigo Video app is very similar to TikTok, however, in Vigo, a user can watch short-videos posted by other users on the platform even without a username. Having said this, if one wishes to upload a video, Vigo users will be required to sign-in with a personal Vigo account or with an existing Google or Facebook account.
Vigo Lite offers the same services, but as the name suggests, it a further toned-down version of the Vigo Video application.
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Since Vigo Video was launched, back in 2017, the app has amassed more than 10 crores (100million) downloads from the Google Play store alone, while Vigo Lite has been downloaded more than 5 crores (50 million) times since its launch a year later, 2018. According to a report from TechCrunch, Vigo Video had nearly 40 lakh (4 million), active users, in May, whereas, Vigo Lite had 10 lakh (1 million) users in the same time period.
In the not, ByteDance said that Vigo Video will be shut in India by the 31st of October 2020 and the company has already shut the operations of the application in both Brazil and the Middle East. A representative of the firm confirmed that Vigo Lite will also close its operations in India around the same time as Vigo Video.
Though the official reason for shutting the apps in India remains unclear, experts speculate that ByteDance is taking the decision to focus on TikTok’s growth in the country. ByteDance is already offering users of Vigo to migrate to TikTok for enhanced “exposure and interactivity with a larger user base.”
Currently, TikTok has generated a massive userbase in India even after several controversies which have surfaced from to-to-time. However, in recent times, the challenges have only grown for the company owing to the growing anti-China sentiments in India.
