ByteDance rival Kuaishou Technology will stop services of its short video app Zynn, marking the end of its effort to challenge ByteDance’s TikTok in the North American market.
Detail:
The Hong-Kong listed short video app operator said in an announcement Wednesday that it will terminate the service of Zynn before August,20. After a 45-day grace period, all data will be removed from the app.
The company noted that other products for market outside China will not be affected, and its strategy for the overseas market remain unchanged.
In 2020, a report indicated that Zynn paid users to watch videos to improve its ranking on the U.S. iOS App store. Zynn was removed from the Play Store after app store found the platform was loaded with video that were copied from other apps.
Zynn also failed to attract user in the U.S. The app had just 200,000 monthly active users in June of this year, down from about 3 million in August 2020.
Context:
Kuaishou begun its overseas expansion in May 2017, launching Kwai in Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia. Kwai currently ranks first in Brazil’s free iPhone app store while TikTok ranks fifth, according to data analytic firm Sensor Tower.
SnackVideo, a Kuaishou app targeting overseas users particularly southeast Asia , has also made progress in Indonesia. Launched in April last year, it ranked 22nd place in the Indonesa’s free iPhone app store, while TikTok ranks second after messaging app WhatsApp, according to Sensor Tower.
Previously, Kuaishou said it has prepared a budget of one billion dollars to grow its overseas user base this year, of which the company will invest at least USD100 million in Brizil.