5 Things We Must Know About CHINGARI

'We just need a spark to light up the dark', they say. Proving this maxim true yet again, an Indian App has risen to the occasion.

Widely touted as the Indian alternative to the Chinese TikTok, Chingari – true to its name – has set the market on fire, sparking a revolution in social media. In less than 22 days, the app has been downloaded by more than 1 crore Indian smartphone users.

Though in the market for quite some time, Chingari, all this while, was dwarfed by its giant competitor TikTok. But, ever since the Indian ban on 59 Chinese applications in retaliation to the Galwan Valley clash, our own desi short video platform has been witnessing phenomenal popularity.

Sumit Ghosh, one of the founders of the app, recently shared that the app was attracting more than 10 lakh views per 30 minutes.

Fitting reply as it has given to TikTok in a narrower context, and to the over-dependence of Indians on Chinese goods at a broader level, let's learn a few things about Chingari – the Indian answer to Chinese hegemony.

01. The app was founded by two programmers – Siddharth Gautam and Biswatma Nayak – based in Bangalore, widely regarded as the Silicon Valley of India.

02. Chingari was first launched on Google Play in November 2018, and for the iPhone users in January 2019.

03. In a clear edge over TikTok, Chingari, apart from allowing users to upload videos and explore content in a news feed style, also lets them interact with new people and share content with them.

04. Unlike its Chinese counterpart, Chingari also offers trending news, love quotes, entertainment news, and more.

05. One can earn money by uploading videos on the app. Chingari pays users on the basis of the popularity of their uploaded content. Users get to earn points based on the views their videos attract. In fact, each view earns the user a point.  These points can then be exchanged for money.

Call it fluke, or conviction of the founders, but the Indian alternative is definitely giving TikTok a run for its money.

Although the Chinese giant has assured about its adherence to the data safety norms, and has said that it would try to convince the government authorities into lifting the ban, Chingari is here to stay.

With more attractive features and a desi touch, Chingari – which means 'Spark' in English – will continue lighting up the lives of countless creative youth.