Following the tension surges between Twitter and Government of India, Koo has now become the talk of the town as it promotes Aatmanirbhar Bharat by offering a Twitter-like experience, even in Indian languages. It is available as an app on both iOS and Android, and also has a webpage.
Koo won the Aatmanirbhar Bharat app challenge in 2020. However, it largely faded from the spotlight after that, the app has again gained popularity after Twitter refused to take down some content that the government had ordered it to remove.
This takedown is an ongoing matter, but in the meanwhile, government bodies like MeitY, and senior politicians like Union Minister Piyush Goyal, have started been tweeting about Koo and their accounts on that platform.
What is Koo app?
Koo is a microblogging service just like Twitter where users can express their opinions. It has been developed by Aprameya Radhakrishna, who is the co-founder and CEO.
Koo was launched in March last year and it also won The Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat Innovate Challenge that finds the best Indian apps that have the potential to become world class apps.
The idea behind this app was to allow Indian users to share their opinions in local languages, while exploring the ‘about’ section on the Koo website.
As the tension surges between the Government of India and Twitter for not blocking the accounts that the government had ordered. Now, not just Piyush Goyal, there are several other senior politicians who have started using Koo, including Minister of Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.
Government ministries and departments such as the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC), National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), India Post, MyGovIndia, Digital India, and National Informatics Centre (NIC), among others, are also on the platform.
What are the features of Koo App?
Koo has features that are quite similar to Twitter. It allows users to follow individuals and browse through a feed. Users can write messages in text or share them in audio or video formats. It has Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Tamil, and English language options, with others coming soon.
It also allows people to express their opinions in their local languages. Messages can now be written up to 400 characters and are called “Koo”. There are language communities which essentially show all content in a particular language.
How to download Koo app?
Koo is a free app available on both Android and iOS. Alternatively, android users can head to Google Play and search for “Koo”.
The app is named “Koo: Connect with Indians in Indian Languages” on Google Play. Similarly it is available on the App Store with Bombinate Technologies Private Limited as the provider.
