Koo launches voluntary self verification for all users

New Delhi: Indian microblogging platform Koo announced on Wednesday that it has launched voluntary self-verification for all users. The company said it is the first social media platform in the world to do so.

Any Koo user can now self-verify their profile on the platform by using their government-approved ID card. The platform said the move empowers users to prove the authenticity of their accounts on the platform, and will lend credibility to the thoughts and opinions that they share.

A visible marker in the form of a green tick will identify an account as being self-verified. Koo said it is the first ‘Significant Social Media Intermediary’ to enable this feature in accordance with Rule 4(7) the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.


Users can enter the government-ID number, enter the OTP, and on successful authentication, get self-verified with a green tick in their profile. The whole process is completed within a few seconds, the company claimed. The validation process will be carried out by government-authorized third-parties. Koo would not store any information during the process, it stated.

Aprameya Radhakrishna, cofounder and CEO of Koo said users can get self-verified in less than 30 seconds through the 'safe and secure' verification process.

"This is a huge step towards lending greater authenticity to users and promoting responsible behavior on the platform. Most social media platforms only give this power to some accounts. Koo is the first platform that has now empowered every user to have the same privilege," he added.

The Koo App was launched in March 2020 as a multi-lingual, micro-blogging platform and is currently available in 10 languages such as Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali and English.
The company said the app has crossed over 30 million downloads and is 'actively leveraged' by over 7,000 people of 'eminence' across fields such as politics, sports, media, entertainment, spirituality, and art and culture.