Kimbho app by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is being touted as WhatsApp rival by Patanjali Yogpeeth.
Ramdev’s Kimbho might not have had the most auspicious start, but the company has now given an explanation for why the app was taken down. Patanjali Yogpeeth spokesperson SK Tijarawala has explained why the ‘swadesi’ WhatsApp rival Kimbho app was taken down from Google Play Store.
Tijarawala, claimed in a tweet that the trial version of Kimbho app was made available initially and it has now been taken down from Play Store as well as App Store. The spokesperson also claims 1.5 lakh downloads within three hours. He added that the Kimbho app will officially launch soon, an exact date has not been specified. Technical work for Kimbho app is in progress, according to him.
Kimbho app is being touted as a ‘Swadeshi’ rival to WhatsApp rival by Ramdev and his Patanjali Yogpeeth. The availability of the app on Google Play Store was previously confirmed by Tijarawala on Twitter. With Kimbho going viral on social media, several users pointed out similarities between Ramdev’s app and an existing messaging app by the name of ‘Bolo’. However, Kimbho was taken down on from the Google Play Store on Thursday.
French security researcher Elliot Alderson even pointed out vulnerabilities in the app that allowed him to access messages of all the users, which might explain the required “technical work”. The researcher put out a Tweet saying Kimbho is a security disaster.
“Ok, I will stop here. The #Kimbho #android #app is a security disaster. I can access the messages of all the users,” his Tweet reads. The app is also facing controversy with other users pointing out this was a copy-paste of an earlier ‘Bolo’ chat app. The description for the two apps, screenshots, etc were all exactly the same. In fact, users also shared tweets showing how the OTP SMS for Kimbho actually said this was for the Bolo app.
#पतंजलि ने #किम्भो एप मात्र 1 दिन के लिए प्ले स्टोर पर ट्रायल पर डाला था। मात्र 3 घंटे में ही 1.5 लाख लोग इसे डाउनलोड करने लगेेेे। हम इस भारी व उत्साहजनक रेस्पॉन्स के प्रति आभारी हैं।
Technical work is in progress &#KIMBHO APP will be officially launched soon @yogrishiramdev pic.twitter.com/hbcq8qpiPS— tijarawala sk (@tijarawala) May 31, 2018
Kimbho app aims to take on WhatsApp, which has close to 250 million monthly active users in India. With the app now taken down from Play Store and App Store, it is unclear when it will make a comeback and whether it will be free to download.
During the time it was listed on Play Store, it saw many negative reviews with users facing issues in sending messages to contacts, the app not working properly, etc. Interestingly, the Kimbho Android and iOS apps were listed with two different developer names – Patanjali Communication and Appdios Inc respectively.