In the wake of some major setbacks over the past year, Xiaomi has made the difficult decision to shut down Zili, a hugely popular app in India. The video was heavily inspired by TikTok and gained a huge following in India after TikTok was banned in the country. as of March 13, it will no longer be available for download or use.
The company announced the closure via a notification on the Zili app. It said the decision was due to an operational adjustment, without providing further details. The website has already been shut down.
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The app urged users to download and save their content offline and redeem their “Z-Points” rewards points before the app was shut down.
Additionally, the notice stated that all user data will be deleted from Zili's servers after March 13, "and will no longer be recoverable."
Xiaomi's Zili app was launched in 2018 and saw significant growth after TikTok in India in 2020.
Sensor Tower data at the time showed that Zili’s downloads jumped to 8 million within three weeks of TikTok’s ban, a significant increase from the previous 3 million downloads. The app has amassed over 100 million downloads to date. This is partly due to the app coming pre-installed on recent Xiaomi phones, further expanding its user base.
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Following TikTok's ban in India, multiple short-form video apps took advantage of its absence, as Indian startups created their own alternatives to capitalize on the opportunity.
However, this growth phase was short-lived. Apps like Trellsaw a decline in usage after their initial surge. It didn't help that big tech like Google and Meta also started to capture a significant share of the market.
Zili saw a big boost after TikTok in India, even as parent company Xiaomi began facing its own political controversies, with some of its apps – notably Mi Browser and Mi Video Call – also being banned by the Indian government.
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It is not clear why Xiaomi decided to shut down the Zili app. What is certain is that the Chinese company is facing increasing scrutiny in India . The smartphone maker is currently facing challenges in maintaining its top position in the Indian market and improving inventory management. Last year, Xiaomi shut down its financial services business in the country “ as part of its annual strategic review activity” and “to focus more ” on its “ core business services .” The Chinese giant has pulled its Mi Pay and Mi Credit apps in the country from the local Play Store and its own app store.
Source: techcrunch.com
