Koo: India's X alternative to shut down services
The homegrown app, which once had ambition of rivalling X in India, has faced a shortage of funding.
Read more at BBC News
Google trend - Koo
Koo, India's social media app, is shutting down as Dailyhunt talks fail ...
Koo was launched as a homegrown alternative to X and even managed to garner investor attention and expand to Nigeria and Brazil.
Read more at Hindustan Times
Koo - 10 things to know with detail
- Koo is a microblogging platform, similar to Twitter, that was launched in March 2020 by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka.
- The platform allows users to post short messages, called "Koos," of up to 400 characters, along with images and videos.
- Koo gained popularity in India as an alternative to Twitter, especially after the Indian government's clash with Twitter over content moderation issues.
- The platform supports multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi, making it more accessible to a diverse user base.
- Koo has attracted prominent Indian personalities, politicians, and government officials who use the platform to communicate with their followers.
- The platform has also been used during emergencies and disasters to provide real-time updates and information to the public.
- Koo has faced criticism for its handling of misinformation and hate speech, similar to other social media platforms.
- The company has raised funding from investors like Accel, 3one4 Capital, and Kalaari Capital, among others.
- Koo has launched features like "Talk to Type" for voice-based messaging and "Koo Communities" for users to join groups based on shared interests.
- As of 2021, Koo has over 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store and continues to grow its user base in India and beyond.