MUMBAI: Gurugram-based tech firm BITCS today announced that its trending short video app Changa is back on Google Play Store after being dropped temporarily. The short video platform, which made a mark for itself as the most suitable TikTok alternative registering around five million downloads within a short span, went off the Play Store mysteriously on Friday last, i.e. October 28. According to the developers of the app, there was no official communication from Google before the temporary removal of Changa from the Play Store.

After discovering that the app had gone off Google Play Store, the Changa management initiated a communication with the search engine giant, expressing their concerns over no prior intimation about the move. Before reaching out to Google, the team at BITCS conducted a thorough check of all policy guidelines to ascertain if any norm had been violated on their part. Once it was established that all guidelines had been adhered to, the team of Changa initiated correspondence with Google via Email. It took a day’s time for the issue to get resolved and Changa app being restored on the Play Store.

Referring to the development, Changa app founder Mr Shubham Agarwal said, “We clock an average of 1 million footprints on Changa app everyday and its removal from the Play Store without any prior intimation did affect our functioning adversely. Thankfully the issue has been resolved now and we are back in action.”

He added that during the brief timeframe when Changa was unavailable on the Play Store, BITCS received more than 10,000 user queries seeking a link to download the app directly. The users mentioned that they had received positive reviews about it and desired to get onboard the app.

Notably, Changa has been filling the void significantly in the domain of short video platforms following the suspension of global apps such as TikTok. The wide range of AR filters and video editing functionalities has resulted in a number of TikTokers taking to Changa to continue their short video journey. Apart from offering an easy-to-use seamless interface, Changa app gives users the option to share their videos directly on instant messaging app WhatsApp and other social media platforms. A first in the segment, the app gives users an option to import the videos created on TikTok.