Mitron is not an Indian app but a repackaged version of TicTic: Report

Mitron app, which has gained popularity as India’s answer to TikTok, is based on source code bought from Pakistani software developer company Qboxus, reports News18.

Irfan Sheikh, the founder and CEO of Qboxus, told the publication that Mitron’s promoter purchased the source code for $34 ( ₹2,600 approximately). Qboxus in the past has developed apps such as TicTic, which is a spin-off of TikTok. Sheikh claimed that the owners of Mitron app did not make any changes to the source code. He also objected to people calling Mitron as an India-made app.

“There is no problem with what the developer has done. He paid for the script and used it, which is okay. But, the problem is with people referring to it as an Indian-made app, which is not true especially because they have not made any changes,” Sheikh is quoted as saying.

According to the report, Mitron’s interface is identical to Qboxus’ TicTic application. The report, however, notes that purchasing an app’s source code and repackaging it with a different name isn’t illegal.

Gadgets360 in its report points out that the identity of the creator of Mitron is not clear though it is widely reported that it was developed by an IIT Roorkee student. The official website listed on Google Play store redirects to a website shopkiller.in which is just a blank page.

Earlier, MitronTV had raced to the top charts of Google Play Store rankings with over 5 million downloads and 4.7 ratings. The growth of Mitron came at a time when TikTok was getting bashed by users with a 1-star rating and millions of negative reviews.

“Our mission at Mitron is to create a platform where people can come and entertain themself with small videos posted by people across the globe and at the same time create a social incentive for people to share and create their own videos,” says the app description on the Play Store.