Chinese internet startup ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has decided to shut down Vigo Apps in India. The company has said in a post that after October 31st, 2020 Vigo Video platform will be no longer accessible. ByteDance has taken the decision to focus its energy and resource on other platforms.
“By October 31st, 2020, Vigo Video will shut down in India while it has already shut operations in Brazil and the Middle East. Until then, users and creators are being given time to manage the transition. Users can export their content on to TikTok and continue with their creativity with a seamless experience on India’s leading short video sharing platform, giving them vast exposure and interactivity with a larger user base,” said Vigo Video in its message to users.
Vigo will notify the users through an in-app notification in the coming days with detailed instructions on downloading their personal data or deleting their accounts permanently, including videos, personal information, chat history, and favorite lists.
Users can export their content on to TikTok and continue with their creativity with a seamless experience on India’s leading short video sharing platform, giving them vast exposure and interactivity with a larger user base,” Vigo said.
The part of the reason behind shutdown could be that Vigo didn’t enjoy much success like TikTok in India. Vigo Video app has a much lesser user base when compared to TikTok. It has around 4 million monthly active users and 1.5 million monthly active users.
This announcement comes at a time when ByteDance trying to clear its image globally. It recently decided that they will establish a second corporate entity in India. They have also cut the access of Chinese engineers of the global user data.