Indian messaging app Hike StickerChat has been discontinued and is not available on Google Playstore and Apple’s App Store. High StickerChat chief executive officer Kavin Bharti Mittal announced on January 6 that it would cease operations. Stay without you. All your data will be available for download in the app, ”Mittal tweeted.
On January 14, the artificial intelligence-powered Indian unicorn also tweeted about the shutdown, “It’s time to finally say goodbye to the High Sticker chat. Thank you for your love, confidence and support. We look forward to seeing. ”
The company has announced to its users to export their chats from the platform on January 14, 2021 at 11:59 pm. “You can continue to contact us at care@hike.in for any issues till February 15, 2021,” the statement said.
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The homegrown app owned by Bharti Enterprises is a rival of WhatsApp in the Indian messaging ecosystem. News of its shutdown comes amid a WhatsApp privacy line that has prompted users to signal and other apps, such as Telegram. Mittal said Indian messaging applications cannot compete with the likes of Telegram and Signal unless it bans Western companies.
India won’t have its own messenger.
Global network effects are too strong (unless India bans Western companies)@telegram UX, Groups better than @signalapp
Both are very good. As entities they have the right incentives (more aligned with consumers) unlike FB products.
— Kavin Bharti Mittal (@kavinbm) January 10, 2021
While the cause of the shutdown is unknown, Mittal has introduced Hike’s new products for 2021 – Rush and Vibe (formerly known as Highland). Rush is a crude-sized gaming platform that features games like Carrom and Ludo, but has evolved into the Highland Vibe, which is now an approved community platform, requiring users to apply for service.
Mittal boasts the launchpad of its various platforms, with millions of users actively using the app for an average of 35 minutes per day.
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He said users of the app have been upset by the recent development and by writing reviews on Hike’s other products on the PlayStore. “I’ve been using hiking since its inception. I really miss hiking and its interface. It’s one of the best apps and one of the most popular apps for chat,” said one user, “tired of its shutdown.”
Marquee has invested in investors Tencent and Bharti Enterprises. So far, according to Crunchbase data, the hike has raised about 1 261 million.