Ramdev’s trade organization Patanjali has removed its much-hyped Kimbho messaging chat application from Google Play Store on Thursday. The app was released ostensible to counter the ubiquitous Whatsapp. There was suspicion in a section that given Ramdev’s closer links with BJP this conduit to gain access to the users data on the lines Cambridge Analytica did to influence the elections in many countries. The Patanjali app is short-lived.
Reason: It is a security disaster. The app went off the Play store hours after Elliot Alderson, a French cyber security expert, called it a joke. He said the app has serious security lapses that have the potential to compromise the users data as happened in the case of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal. He said he could access the data of all users of Kimbho.
Around the same time another expert revealed that Kimbho is not original and it is a copy of another app called BOLO.
Our trial version of #kimbho app is no longer available for download on any platform.We don’t take any responsibility for many duplicate apps showing anywhere.Beware! Please stay tuned.#पतंजलि का #किम्भो एप का ट्रायल वर्जन अब कहीं भी डाउनलोड के लिए उपलब्ध नहीं है Thank You ! 🙂
— Kimbho Chat App (@KimbhoApp) 1 June 2018
Shocked at the expose the Patanjali immediately removed the app from the Google Play Store with hilarious explanation.
If you installed the #Kimbho #app you received this SMS. I have to admit I laughed reading the last sentence 😂 pic.twitter.com/eHXemviFOv
— Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) 1 June 2018
#KimbhoApp: You are in a spiral of lies. Do you really that the 2 lies are inconsistent?
Next time, when you want to lie publicly bring a technical guy to your brainstorming. Nobody is removing his app from the store due to high traffic. There is no good reason to do that.2/3
— Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) 1 June 2018
This @KimbhoApp is a joke, next time before making press statements, hire competent developers… If it is not clear, for the moment don’t install this app. #Kimbho #KimbhoApp pic.twitter.com/wLWzO6lhSR
— Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) 30 May 2018
It is build on an app called “BOLO”. Kimbho team is so dumb that they didnt even changed the OTP SMS format!! Even the description n pics used are same as Bolo app! 😂 https://t.co/QKGjYC1y2J pic.twitter.com/40yRxZKbLX
— Abhishek Singh (@ThakurrSaab) 31 May 2018