TikTok is growing exponentially, and it has now acquired a huge user base. This is probably the main reason why app developers are busy making applications to rival the Chinese short video platform. Reportedly, YouTube is also developing an app that will let users share short videos like TikTok does. Citing two people familiar with the matter, a report in The Information says that the Google-owned platform may release the said app by the end of the year.
‘YouTube is currently planning Shorts, its answer to TikTok, as a feature inside its existing mobile app. Shorts will include a feed of brief videos posted by users inside the Google-owned app and will take advantage of the video service’s catalogue of licensed music, songs from which will be available to use as soundtracks for the videos created by users,’ the report quoted the people as saying.
TikTok hit 1.5 billion download mark globally in the last quarter. According to SensorTower, India tops the chart with 466.8 million or about 31 per cent of all unique installs (combined number of installs on the App Store and Google Play). Last year, the app was downloaded 614 million times, which is six per cent more than the number of downloads in 2018.
Additionally, Indians downloaded the app for 277.6 million times, which is roughly 45 per cent of all global installs during the same period. TikTok has also been shrouded by controversy and infamy, especially in India. Last year, the Madras High Court banned the app download in the country after a petition claimed that TikTok promotes pornography, suicide, and child abuse. There were also concerns about the handling of users’ private data.
