India bans streaming apps you’ve never heard of — but millions watch

Summary

India has ordered the blocking of 25 streaming services — many with millions of viewers and even paying subscribers — for allegedly promoting “obscene” content, in one of the South Asian nation’s biggest digital crackdowns yet. The order affects lesser-known, but wildly popular services like Ullu and ALTT that cater to the country’s mass-market appetite for adult and edgy entertainment. This week, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued directives to block access to websites and apps linked to 25 streaming services, citing provisions of the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the IT Rules of 2021, TechCrunch learned. The order came months after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology raised concerns about mature content being streamed on these platforms without adequate safeguards. The Indian government contacted internet service providers and app stores, including Google Play and the Apple App Store earlier this week to restrict these streaming services, a source privy to the matter told TechCrunch. Some of these services, especially the major ones with millions of subscribers, remained live at the time of filing this article. Google and Apple did not respond to requests for comment. The information and broadcasting minister also did not respond to an email sent Friday. Of the 25 streaming services, 10 offered in-app purchases through their apps on Google Play and the App Store, generating a cumulative $5.7 million since launch with nearly 105 million downloads, per the Appfigures data exclusively shared with TechCrunch. The wide gap between in-app purchases and downloads is primarily due to their low subscription costs — significantly lower than Netflix and other global platforms in India. Techcrunch event San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025 Lifetime totals of banned streaming services from Google Play and Apple App StoreImage Credits:Appfigures Notably, some of these st...