Patanjali explains why Kimbho app was removed from Google Play Store

Yoga guru Ramdev’s instant messaging app ‘Kimbho’ had mysteriously disappeared from Google Play Store a day after the launch.

Kimbho app mysteriously disappeared from Play Store hours after its launch. (HT Photo)

Yoga guru Ramdev's Kimbho application, touted as the rival to Facebook-owned WhatsApp, vanished from Google Play Store after a few hours of the launch. Kimbho, however, received a wide attention from users. Though a few people raised questions about the privacy and security features of the Kimbho application. While Twitter had its fair share of internet fun, Patnjali has now explained why the application was removed from the Play Store.

SK Tijarawala, spokesperson for Patanjali Yogpeeth said that the app was launched on a trial basis for just one day. The app garnered over 150,000 downloads on Google Play Store within three hours of the launch, he added.

The spokesperson further said that this wasn't an official launch of the app and that the technical work is still in progress.

This could have been the reason behind the many security issues and loopholes found in the Kimbho app. Security researcher Elliot Alderson pointed out some serious vulnerabilities in the app. He claimed that he could access the messages of all users. But this wasn't the end of troubles for Kimbho.

Users also discovered a similar app on Apple's App Store for iOS devices. It was alleged that the Kimbho iOS app is actually a copy paste version of an existing Bolo Messenger app. The alleged Kimbho app for iOS had the same screenshots, product description and the app developer as that of the Bolo Messenger.

To this, Tejariwala responded by saying that Kimbho isn't available on any app store at the moment, and the company takes no responsibility for the duplicates.

He added that more details on the app will be announced soon.