Twitter Introduces WhatsApp Share Button For Users In India

Microblogging site Twitter is experimenting with a WhatsApp button for Android users in India to share posts on the messaging platform. The new experiment is limited to Twitter India users for now. 

“Conversations are core to Twitter and we are focussed on making the experience personalised for our audiences. Starting today, we are rolling out a new experiment exclusively in India – an important market for us,”  Shirish Andhare, director and product head of Twitter India was quoted as saying in media reports.

According to Andhare, this new feature will make it easier for users to share their favourite or noteworthy Tweets beyond Twitter, which will make the overall experience more open, accessible and holistic for the users.

Terming India home to one of the most diverse sets of audience, he said that the company will unlock the learnings and potential of the feature to apply them in other Android-first markets, and eventually in rest of the markets.

As India is the largest market for WhatsApp users, it makes sense for Twitter to roll out this feature to make user experience more holistic. According to a Satista report, there are over 487 million WhatsApp users in India alone.

On the other hand, Twitter has around 23.6 Mn users in India. The Ministry Of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in an internal report said that India has 7% of Twitter’s global user base.

However, the social media platform has been at loggerheads with the Indian government over multiple issues over the last few years.

Recently, the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology summoned Twitter India officials to hear views on the subject of ‘Citizens’ Data Security and Privacy’. During the meeting, the panel also grilled Twitter executives over a whistle blower’s claim that the microblogging platform allowed the Indian government to put its ‘agent’ on the company’s payroll.

Twitter is also involved in a legal battle with the Indian government over a series of ‘blocking orders’ issued by the latter under the Information Technology Act, 2000. Recently, the government called for the dismissal of the petition on the grounds of ‘maintainability’.