vernacular digital media apps
built and scaled apps for 1 billion Indians 🚀
the challenge
from 2019–21, India’s next wave of internet users was coming online - largely from tier-2 and tier-3 districts, consuming content in their native languages, almost entirely on Android phones.
this wasn’t a translation problem.
these users had little patience for clutter, weak networks, low-end devices, and zero loyalty to apps that didn’t deliver value immediately. in vernacular news, demand was massive — but retention was broken. bounce rates crossed 90%. distribution was fragmented. competition from players like DailyHunt, Dainik Bhaskar, TOI regional apps was intense.
the real question was simple and uncomfortable:
how do you build products for Bharat that people actually come back to?
the solution
i led product and growth across two vernacular media products with one guiding principle:
Note: Design for familiarity, speed, and habit - not novelty.
- designed the MVP for the Bulletin app, optimised for fast discovery and district-level relevance
- rolled out a district-first GTM, expanding across 30+ districts instead of chasing vanity scale
- launched PWA and native apps for Webdunia in 8 Indian languages
- opened up non-obvious distribution by shipping across Google Play and OEM app stores
- ran continuous experiments across ASO, onboarding, and UX copy for first-time internet users
- shipped culturally grounded features like Astrology widgets and video auto-scroll to build daily habits
the outcome
- 100K+ installs and 75K MAU for Bulletin across 30+ districts
- 50M+ monthly page views across Webdunia web + mobile
- ~30% lift in D7 retention
- bounce rate reduced from ~90% to ~65%
the learnings
building for Bharat wasn’t about simplifying products — it was about respecting context. cultural relevance, speed, and habits matter more than elegant flows or global best practices. this work still shapes how i build today: stay close to users, embrace constraints, and optimise for adoption before aesthetics.