L’amour, Amour, LivU, Mico Chat, Kitty Live, Malay Social Relationship, Zakzak Professional, Zakzak Reside, and US-listed Momo Inc’s Tantan app, are within the newest listing.
Most of those apps have garnered thousands and thousands of downloads on Google Play Retailer in India and make a tidy sum by way of in-app purchases.
Actually, L’amour was probably the most downloaded relationship apps in India in 2019, in line with analysis and analytics agency Sensor Tower. YouTube, as properly and Google Play critiques, are filled with customers complaining about ladies gone lacking as soon as the boys pay for membership.
L’amour and LivU have been accused of using bots or hiring girls to pose as an person or for chatting with male customers.
“These are largely transactional apps. If a person indicators up on L’amour, he will get 6 matches instantly. The lady begins sending pictures and messages. If the person desires to talk with the “lady” they need to pay. That’s their enterprise mannequin,” stated Meet Kanodia, co-founder and CEO of GoGaga app. “It hits folks like us as a result of everybody begins doubting relationship app legitimacy. We get into the radar for no motive.”
L’amour’s mum or dad firm Asia Improvements, which is backed by traders resembling Wicklow Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, didn’t reply to an e mail looking for remark. LivU and Zakzak additionally didn’t reply to ET’s e mail.
In line with business estimates, there are at the least 100 stay chatting and video-dating apps, not solely from China but in addition Russia, Ukraine, and South Korea. GoGaga has filed a criticism with Google towards a friendship and social relationship app referred to as Gaga on Play Retailer for ‘Misuse of Trademark’.
GoGaga has alleged that it receives a number of complaints about fraud from customers of the Gaga app as a result of they mistake Gaga for GoGaga. Gaga didn’t reply to ET’s queries on the allegations.
“These apps create an setting the place relationship apps are unhealthy. They present raunchy and deceptive adverts. In India, the feminine ‘like’ fee is 8%. If the app is displaying a ‘like’ fee of 60% it’s clearly pretend. These are all scammy methods of incomes cash,” stated Snehil Khanor, CEO at TrulyMadly. “These apps had been in the end degrading the notion of the relationship apps business. These apps create an setting the place relationship apps are unhealthy.”
One of many challenges the Indian relationship app section faces is a skewed gender ratio. In India, relationship apps wouldn’t have greater than 20-30% feminine profiles, which at most occasions are extremely unresponsive.
“Most of those apps are principally an (on-line) escort service. They rent companies in India to do lively calls, they rent females by way of networks. What’s morally improper right here is that they are saying, ‘discover love’ and stuff. Proper now, not all apps are banned. They use US accounts to create Google Play accounts,” stated a former senior government of a global relationship app.
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