India bans streaming apps you’ve by no means heard of — however tens of millions watch

India has ordered the blocking of 25 streaming providers — many with tens of millions of viewers and even paying subscribers — for allegedly selling “obscene” content material, in one of many South Asian nation’s greatest digital crackdowns but. The order impacts lesser-known, however wildly widespread providers like Ullu and ALTT that cater to the nation’s mass-market urge for food for grownup and edgy leisure.

This week, the Ministry of Info and Broadcasting issued directives to dam entry to web sites and apps linked to 25 streaming providers, citing provisions of the Info Expertise Act of 2000 and the IT Guidelines of 2021, TechCrunch realized.

The order got here months after the Nationwide Fee for Safety of Little one Rights and a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Info Expertise raised issues about mature content material being streamed on these platforms with out enough safeguards.

The Indian authorities contacted web service suppliers and app shops, together with Google Play and the Apple App Retailer earlier this week to limit these streaming providers, a supply aware about the matter informed TechCrunch.

A few of these providers, particularly the main ones with tens of millions of subscribers, remained reside on the time of submitting this text.

Google and Apple didn’t reply to requests for remark. The knowledge and broadcasting minister additionally didn’t reply to an electronic mail despatched Friday.

Of the 25 streaming providers, 10 provided in-app purchases by means of their apps on Google Play and the App Retailer, producing a cumulative $5.7 million since launch with practically 105 million downloads, per the Appfigures information completely shared with TechCrunch. The broad hole between in-app purchases and downloads is primarily resulting from their low subscription prices — considerably decrease than Netflix and different international platforms in India.

Notably, a few of these streaming providers had been both by no means listed on conventional app shops or had been eliminated earlier, and as a substitute provided their apps as direct APK downloads. As of publication, a few of these APK recordsdata had been nonetheless accessible by means of their web sites or third-party platforms.

Earlier this month, Indian manufacturing firm Balaji Telefilms, the father or mother of ALTT, disclosed that its streaming app generated ₹202.6 million ($2.3 million) in income by including 1.06 million subscribers in 2025. ALTT’s content material was watched for greater than 5.8 million hours, garnering 160 million annual views, the corporate mentioned.

ALTT’s app was now not obtainable for obtain by means of Google Play and the App Retailer in India, and its web site was inaccessible on most Indian ISPs on the time of submitting this text.

Balaji Telefilms didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the ban.

Ullu, one other comparatively outstanding streaming service named by the Indian authorities, remained obtainable through its app on the Indian Play Retailer, and its web site was accessible as properly. The service’s iOS app, nonetheless, was not obtainable for obtain from the Indian App Retailer.

Ullu Digital, the father or mother firm of Ullu, reported a web revenue of ₹212.3 million ($2.5 million) for the monetary yr 2024, per its regulatory submitting reviewed by TechCrunch. The corporate posted a income of ₹931.4 million ($11 million) and declared a web price of ₹2.08 billion ($24 million).

Ullu Digital didn’t reply to requests for remark.

Alongside tens of millions of {dollars} in subscription income, these streaming providers had been additionally attracting tens of millions of world visits to their web sites.

Ullu noticed practically 10% year-over-year progress in worldwide site visitors, reaching 1.9 million visits in June, whereas ALTT recorded over 130% progress to 776,400, per SimilarWeb.

In India, Ullu recorded 18.9% year-over-year progress, reaching 1.8 million visits, whereas ALTT noticed a 157.8% enhance to 696,200 visits, SimilarWeb information reveals.

Importantly, this isn’t the primary time the streaming enterprise has seen a crackdown in India. World platforms, together with Amazon Prime Video and Netflix typically face cases of censorship by the Indian authorities.

Nonetheless, even stricter actions are seen in instances of obscenity regardless of an absence of readability on laws, as watching express content material that includes totally consensual interactions between grownup actors in a non-public area just isn’t against the law.

In 2023, the then Indian info broadcasting minister warned streaming platforms to not serve abusive and obscene content material. New Delhi has additionally blocked hundreds of internet sites streaming pornographic content material. On a plea to control sexually express content material in April this yr, India’s Supreme Court docket additionally issued notices to streaming platforms and the Indian authorities.

That mentioned, curbing obscene content material stays a problem even for the Indian authorities. Smaller streaming providers — like these focused on this crackdown — typically reappear below new names, apps, and domains. It’s equally tough for intermediaries like Google, Apple, and web suppliers to completely block entry, as these platforms typically unfold by means of different channels and use social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube to draw viewers.