The entire second half of last year was highlighted by Chinese apps being banned and their Indian counterparts mushrooming. We saw dozens of video-conferencing apps, Tik-Tok replicas and we are even getting a desi replica of PubG.
However, come 2021, there is a call for banning international messaging apps by Hike’s founder and CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal. Why? Because they’ve got a better UX, they’re too strong and are aligned with consumers requirements while Indian messenger apps do not have enough users.
India won’t have its own messenger. Global network effects are too strong (unless India bans Western companies)@telegram UX, Groups better than @signalappBoth are very good. As entities they have the right incentives (more aligned with consumers) unlike FB products.January 10, 2021
While the above appeal may sound ludicrous, He also announced a slew of changes and updates at Hike which includes shutting down of Hike Sticker Chat app and announced that India won’t have its own messenger.
According to Mittal, Hike Sticker Chat app has millions of downloads and while its users have been spending approximately 35 minutes every day, it has not been as successful as the company had hoped. And even though he mentioned that the Hike Sticker Chat app will go offline later in January, its Android Play Store link seems to be already taken down.
Stating that the international counterparts are way too strong, he announced that while the chat app will discontinue, HikeMoji will continue to be available in two different apps – Vibe, renamed HikeLand and Rush, a bite-sized gaming service.
The news of shutting its chat app coincides with WhatsApp updating its policies and the amount of data it has been found collecting, users have been looking for its alternatives. Hike Sticker Chat app was launched in 2019 and was available in 30 Indian languages with over two million weekly active users. It was slated to generate revenue by 2020, however, it looks like something went off in the interim and the company had to kill the app.
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