“Tooter” is a new competition for Twitter from India. “Tooter” claims to be a “swadeshi” social networking Platform. Tooter appears to be in existence since June 2020. “Tooter” is available as a web application and also has an android app in the google play store but is missing from the app store for iOS users as of now. Tooter’s about pages says: “We believe that India should have a Swadeshi social network. Without one we are just a digital colony of the American Twitter India Company, no different than what we were under the British East India Company. Tooter is our Swadeshi Andolan 2.0. Join us in this Andolan. Join us!”
The app already has a number of eminent users including Prime Minister Narendra Modi (with an already verified account), Home minister Amit Shah, Indian cricketer Virat Kholi, Actor Abhishek Bachchan. Although no official statement has been passed by any of these people regarding their Tooter account.
“Tooter” has a white and blue colour scheme which is somewhat a crossover between Facebook and Twitter. The app, however, has the same innards as Twitter, where a person can create an account using @username and email address, follow other accounts, scroll through a feed with posts and pictures from other accounts and customize groups and lists as well. Similarly, like the posts on Twitter are called “tweets”, the posts on Tooter are called “toots”. Once you create an account on Tooter you are followed by a bot account called “news” also by an account credit to its CEO.
Tooter offers an upgrade to “TooterPRO” at the cost of rs1000 per year, although nor does mention the where to make the payment neither does it mention the features of “TooterPRO”.
People have Tooter comparing to Parler (US-based free speech social media platform) but unlike Parler, Tooter has limits on what you can say. The app also has a “pro feed” with default posts from a verified account credited to BJP.
