SoChat: a rebranded companion app, 176k installs in two months, but this isn't an opportunity for you
What it is A 18+ video companion app for Indonesia where users spend coins on one-on-one video calls with hosts and send gifts.
Why it took off It's a new shell that replaced the same company's older package Minis after it was delisted. It runs on the backend and host pool already proven by its sister app Tina Live (5.14M installs), then was pushed to scale in batches with paid acquisition. The product itself wasn't what users chose.
DHow you could follow it Not recommended. If you do it anyway, don't compete on package count. Look for countries and languages on the Top Grossing charts where the same-type competition hasn't filled up yet, or build tools for agencies and hosts, avoiding the 18+ C-end account-ban risk.
- Data (updated daily) · first launch 2026-09-09 · 11-06 installs 175,680
Android · Total installs worldwide Data 2026-10-29 → 2026-11-06 (9 days, 7 observations). Google's detail page only refreshes install counts every other day, so a flat day doesn't mean nobody installed.Android · Ratings count (cumulative) Data 2026-10-30 → 2026-11-06 (8 days, 6 observations)
In Indonesia there's a 1v1 video companion app called SoChat that reached 176k installs in two months. Its website is still hosted under minis.kubiapp.com. It's not a new product; it's a rebranded shell that a companion-studio replaced after its old package was taken down. Below: how it took off, how it makes money, and why indie developers should only watch it.
The website still shows the old name
In 2026 Sep 9, a developer named mimuna listed "SoChat - Live Video Call" on Google Play. The contact email is gmail, and the website is a subdomain of kubiapp.com. When opened in Nov 6, the homepage said "Welcome to SoChat" and the download button pointed to SoChat, but the image filenames on the page were minis_home.png, minis_video.png, minis_bg1.png; only the logo had been swapped for sochat_logo_text.png.
Minis was this company's previous app, full name "Minis - Live Video Chat", last updated Aug 12, and it's no longer on Google Play (the AppBrain page says it "had 100000+ downloads" and has been removed). The old package stopped updating in mid-August, the new one launched in Sep 9, and the website simply swapped the homepage copy and kept going.
mimuna has 5 packages: Kubi, Kubi Pro, Tina Live, Minis, SoChat (from the APKPure developer page). Package names look like random word combinations (chat.earne, chat.crocod, halt.hide, chat.eternal, chat.golsep), and the developer uses an alias. 1v1 video companion apps commonly do this to dodge bans. The company's real identity was not found.
What it sells
The store page says "HD video chat, meet friends worldwide, automatic chat translation", rated 18+. In practice: users download for free, then video-call hosts 1v1, billed per minute in coins, and can send gifts. In-app purchases run from $0.99 to $159.99 per item (Google Play, 11-06). Some users have spent a lot in one go on the $159.99 IAP, and the category relies on those large-spending users.
Hosts are signed by the platform or supplied by agencies. Revenue after deducting host revenue share and paid-acquisition cost is the profit.
How the numbers grew
| Date | Total installs |
|---|---|
| 09-20 | 450 |
| 10-04 | About 26k |
| 10-13 | About 56k |
| 10-21 | About 108k |
| 11-06 | 175,680 |
(Google Play installs; the early points are third-party estimates)
The curve moves in steps: barely changing for several days, then jumping by 10,000–20,000 a day. 10-21 it rose about 39k in a day, 10-31 it rose 12k, then stalled for three days, and 11-05 it added 18k more. Organic growth doesn't look like this; it looks more like paid-acquisition budgets released in batches (inference). Searching "sochat" on TikTok turns up no related video, no one mentioned it on X in 90 days, and there's no media coverage. Its users didn't come from content.
The market splits into two parts. Indonesia pays: 11-06 it ranks #195 on Indonesia's entertainment Top Grossing chart. Nigeria supplies cheap installs: 10-29 it ranked #77 on Nigeria's entertainment Top Free chart, 11-02 dropped to #179, and afterward fell out of the top 200. Using installs from low-cost countries to prop up the matching pool and the charts is an old trick in this business.
The ratings are also off: 738 ratings, 4.67 average, with only 3-star (123) and 5-star (615) reviews, while 1-star, 2-star and 4-star are all 0 (Google Play, 11-06). Ratings for similar apps follow a normal distribution, and the sister app Tina Live has 715 1-star ratings. This distribution is probably manufactured (inference), so the 4.67 average doesn't show that users like it.
The real money-maker is its sister app
The same developer's Tina Live launched in April 2025. As of 11-06 it has 5.14M installs and 10,739 ratings, and has added 7k in the last 146 days. It ranks #19 to #21 on Indonesia's social Top Grossing chart and also places on the social Top Grossing charts in Thailand, Nigeria, Malaysia and Mexico.
SoChat and Tina Live run on the same backend, the same host pool and the same domain, and both target Indonesia, Tina Live's most profitable market. The only difference is the category: Tina Live is in Social, SoChat is in Entertainment. That way one company holds two chart slots in the same country and runs two paid acquisition accounts. If one package gets banned, the other keeps running. SoChat isn't a new product the market picked. It's a slot this company filled after Minis was pulled from the store.
Who it's competing with: hundreds of look-alike apps
名字里带 video call、video chat、live chat、装机超过 10 万的 Android App 有 420 个左右,2026 年 8 月以后上架的有 18 个。11-06 印尼娱乐类畅销榜前 200 里,1v1 视频陪聊至少有 25 个,SoChat 排在最后一个。
| Product | Scale (Google Play, 11-06) | Compared with SoChat |
|---|---|---|
| Chamet | 78.4M installs | Running since 2019, with a host agency and brands |
| Riff - Video Chat | 15.5M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #41 | Started the same year, same model, far bigger |
| Hana / Memu Live / Mochichat | 1.94M–9.55M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #14–#44 | Ranks ahead of it on the same chart |
| Tina Live (same company) | 5.14M installs, Indonesia Social Top Grossing #19 | SoChat's parent |
| New packages in the same period: Live Idol Video Call, Camio, Vazuno, Bandi, Talkora and others | 90k–550k installs | Same batch of reskinned packages; some developer names look borrowed at a glance |
The features (HD video, global matching, built-in translation, gifts) are all standard for this category, and SoChat didn't add anything. Live Idol Video Call, launched in the same period, gained 460k in one week, more than SoChat's total over two months.
How much money: unclear
Neither SoChat nor Tina Live publishes revenue. A third-party estimate puts Tina Live's monthly Google Play in-app purchases at under $5K, yet it ranks in the top 20 of Indonesia's Social Top Grossing, so the numbers don't match. Either the estimate is low, or part of the money comes through web top-ups outside the store, which these apps often do (unverified). SoChat only reaches #195 in Indonesia Entertainment, so its revenue is small for this niche (inferred).
If it were you
Verdict: Don't copy it. SoChat gets its traction from a company's existing backend, host pool and paid acquisition accounts, plus a routine of swapping packages. An indie developer can't get any of that. Nothing in the product is worth copying, and the category in Indonesia already has more than twenty competitors.
Who it suits: Teams already doing global social apps, with host agency resources, a paid acquisition team, and the stamina to handle Google Play bans. For them, SoChat's playbook (one company, several packages in parallel categories, batch landing pages on subdomains, cheap-country installs to seed the main market) is industry common sense, not something new.
Who it doesn't suit: Solo developers or small teams with no host supply, no paid acquisition budget, and no experience with content moderation. 18+ companion apps are where Google Play bans happen most, and a package can disappear within months, so you need to be ready to replace it immediately.
If you must build something: Don't try to out-package it. Look for languages and audiences this category doesn't cover, such as countries outside Indonesia where the top chart isn't yet crowded with twenty similar apps. Or build tools for agencies and hosts (scheduling, revenue splits, translation) and stay away from the consumer-facing policy risk. The article didn't verify these directions, so check local charts yourself.
Acquisition: This niche runs only on paid acquisition, with no content or word-of-mouth path. Nobody organically talks about these apps on TikTok or X.
What would show this read is wrong: If SoChat reaches millions of installs in three months and enters the top 50 of Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing, with features Tina Live doesn't have, it's more than a reskinned package and worth another look. If it disappears from the store the way Minis did, the playbook has a lifespan of a few months.
Research notes: competitor table, acquisition evidence, full research report
- Competitors
Name Where Launched Scale How it differs from this one Tina Live (same developer) Android 2025-04 5.14M installs, Indonesia SOCIAL Top Grossing #19 The parent of the same company and the same model. SoChat is its clone, moved to the ENTERTAINMENT category to chase Indonesia. Chamet Android 2019-11 78.4M installs, UAE Social Top Grossing #2 Established market leader with a brand and a host agency system Azar Android 2013 293M installs Big-company random video matching with subscriptions; SoChat is host-led companionship with coin-based billing OmeTV Android 2015 254M installs Random matching with real strangers, mostly free Riff - Video Chat Android 2025-04 15.5M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #41 Same model, roughly 90 times SoChat's scale Memu Live / Hana / Mochichat Android 2024–2025 1.94M–9.55M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #14–#44 Same model, ranks far above SoChat on the same Indonesia chart New look-alikes in the same period (Live Idol Video Call, Camio, Vazuno, Bandi, Talkora and others) Android 2026-08 to 10 90k–550k installs Nearly identical; same batch of reskinned packages - Where users come from
- Inferred Paid acquisition: installs jump in steps, flat for days, then rise 1–40k in a single day. Briefly reached the top 100 in Nigeria's free chart, then dropped off. Our Meta / TikTok / Google ad libraries did not track it.
- Confirmed Reskinned package / sock-puppet account: the same developer has released Kubi, Kubi Pro, Tina Live, Minis and SoChat, 5 packages in all. Minis has been pulled; SoChat's website is still minis.kubiapp.com, and its images are still named minis_*.png.
- Inferred Suspected rating manipulation: of 738 ratings, only 3 are 123-star and 5 are 615-star, while 1-, 2- and 4-star ratings are all 0. Similar apps show a normal distribution.
- Inferred Content / creators / press: no related TikTok videos found; X shows 0 posts in 90 days; only APK aggregator pages mention it.
Why SoChat - Live Video Call (com.chat.golsep.soch) got traction
Channel: Google Play | Developer: mimuna ([email protected], website kubiapp.com) | Store launch: 2026-09-09 | Research date: 2026-11-06
Bottom line
SoChat didn't win on product innovation. It's a reskinned package from a small team (sock-puppet name mimuna) that specializes in "1v1 video companionship + coin gifts." Its previous package, Minis - Live Video Chat, has disappeared from Google Play, yet SoChat's website still runs on minis.kubiapp.com, and its web images are still named minis_*.png. Installs rise in waves, which looks like paid acquisition pushed in batches. The main markets are Indonesia (paid) and Nigeria (cheap installs). By the standards of this niche its numbers are small: it only reaches #195 on Indonesia's Entertainment Top Grossing, with more than 25 similar apps on the same chart. It got this far because the model was already proven by its sister package Tina Live (5.1M installs). SoChat is just a new package on the same backend, with the same hosts and the same acquisition playbook.
1. Data
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cumulative global installs | 175,680(11-06) | googleplay library app_snap |
| New in the last 7 days | 33,153 | Google Play library app_profile |
| install curve since launch | 09-20 450 → 10-04 26k → 10-13 56k → 10-21 108k → 11-06 176k | googleplay library app_day_ext (AppstoreSpy estimate) |
| Single-day jumps | 10-08 +12,863; 10-21 +38,893; 10-23 +11,626; often several days in between with only single-digit gains | Same as above (averaged between observations, so single-day figures are not reliable) |
| Rating | 738 reviews, 4.67 stars | googleplay library |
| Rating distribution | 1-star 0, 2-star 0, 3-star 123, 4-star 0, 5-star 615 | googleplay library app_snap.histogram(11-06) |
| Charts | Indonesia ENTERTAINMENT Top Grossing 188→195 (10-29 to 11-06); Nigeria ENTERTAINMENT Top Free 77→179 (10-29 to 11-02, then dropped out of the top 200) | googleplay library chart_rank |
| In-app purchases | $0.99–$159.99 per item | googleplay library |
| Version | 1.0.4(10-22) → 1.0.5(11-04, update note "Fixed Minor Bugs") | googleplay library |
Several things look off:
- The rating distribution has only 3-star and 5-star ratings; 1-, 2- and 4-star ratings are all 0. Similar apps have normal distributions. Tina Live is [715, 165, 275, 936, 8481] and Memu Live is [939, 391, 782, 1173, 16355]. A polarized, uniform distribution like this suggests rating manipulation (prompting positive reviews or buying them), so ratings can't be taken as evidence of word of mouth.
- Installs grow in steps (nearly flat for several days, then 1–40k in one day), which doesn't look organic. It looks more like paid acquisition budgets released in batches, or traffic bought in bulk.
2. Developer mimuna: a rolling-reskin companion app studio
- mimuna has 5 packages on APKPure (APKPure developer page):
- Kubi (com.chat.earne.kubi, last updated 2024-03)
- Kubi Pro(com.chat.crocod.kubpro,2024-07)
- Tina Live - Match & Video Call (com.halt.hide.tinalive, launched 2025-04, still updating as of 2026-10)
- Minis - Live Video Chat (com.chat.eternal.minis, last updated 2026-08-12)
- SoChat (launched 2026-09-09)
- In AppBrain's search snippet, Minis reads "was a free entertainment app … had 100000+ downloads" and "The year before it was removed," meaning it has been pulled from the store (AppBrain; the page itself shows a captcha, so this is only the search snippet). Neither Minis nor Kubi is in our database. The Play developer page now lists only Tina Live and SoChat (Play developer page).
- SoChat is Minis in a new shell. The developer site
https://minis.kubiapp.comnow opens as a SoChat landing page. The download button points to com.chat.golsep.soch, and the image files are still namedminis_home.pngandminis_video.png, with the logosochat_logo_text.png(minis.kubiapp.com). The timeline: Minis had its last update in August, and SoChat launched 9-09. That sequence fits the pattern of "old package delisted or throttled, swap in a new package name and brand, and keep running the same operation." - Kubi's Facebook page says "Kubi es la primera aplicación que regala premios en efectivo todos los días" (Facebook), showing the team was running cash-prize and giveaway apps aimed at Spanish-speaking markets early on. The package names (chat.earne / chat.crocod / halt.hide / chat.eternal / chat.golsep) are random word combinations, the developer names are personal-looking pseudonyms, and the contact emails are Gmail. These are typical moves in the 1v1 video-companion sector (often run by Chinese going-global teams) to use shell accounts and shell packages to dodge bans. The team's real identity has not been verified.
Scale of sister app Tina Live
- 5.14M installs, +146k in the last 7 days, rating 4.51 (10,739 reviews). Source: googleplay database, 11-06.
- Charts (googleplay database, 10-29 to 11-06): Indonesia SOCIAL Top Grossing #19–21; Thailand SOCIAL Top Free #26 / Top Grossing #30; Nigeria SOCIAL Top Free #29 / Top Grossing #34; Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa and the UK all in the SOCIAL Top Grossing top 60. It hit #187 once on Indonesia's overall Top Grossing chart. Similarweb shows it at #29 on Colombia's social Top Grossing chart (11-02, Similarweb).
- The recall card says Tina Live worked in "Brazil and Peru." That is inaccurate: our database has no Peru storefront, and Brazil's social Top Grossing only ranks 88–125. Its strongest market is clearly Indonesia. So SoChat is not "copying the Latin America playbook into Indonesia." It is opening a second package in Indonesia, where Tina Live already makes the most money, to take another chart slot, open another paid acquisition account, and keep a backup in case the old package gets banned.
- AppGazers estimates Tina Live's Google Play in-app revenue from 10-07 to 11-06 at under $5K, with 330k–1.5M downloads (AppGazers). That revenue estimate clearly doesn't match its Top Grossing rankings, so it's probably an underestimate. Payments may also run partly outside the store (web top-ups or third-party recharge, which is common for apps like this). Not verified.
3. Competitors: a red ocean, with SoChat a very small player
In our Play library, apps whose names contain video call / video chat / live chat / obrolan video, with installs ≥100k (prank-call apps excluded), come to 420. Of those, 18 launched after 2026-08, and SoChat sits mid-pack. In the top 200 of Indonesia's ENTERTAINMENT Top Grossing chart, at least 25 are video / live companionship apps, and SoChat ranks last (#195). 11-06 1v1
| Competitors | Platform | Launched | Scale (googleplay library 11-06) | How SoChat differs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tina Live (same developer) | Android | 2025-04 | 5.14M installs, Indonesia social Top Grossing #19 | Same company, same model. It is SoChat's parent product, and SoChat is its spin-off package. |
| Chamet | Android | 2019-11 | 78.4M installs, UAE Social Top Grossing #2 | Long-established leader with an agency system for hosts and a recognized brand. SoChat has no brand. |
| Tango | Android | 2010 | 387M installs | A large platform combining live streaming and video chat. |
| Azar(Hyperconnect / Match Group) | Android | 2013 | 293M installs | Big-company random video matching on subscription. SoChat is host-based companionship billed in coins. |
| OmeTV | Android | 2015 | 254M installs, +970k in 7 days | Random matching with real strangers, mostly free |
| Riff - Video Chat | Android | 2025-04 | 15.5M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #41 | Same model, same starting year, roughly 3 times Tina Live's scale |
| Memu Live | Android | 2024-11 | 6.65M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #38 | Same model, Indonesia is the home market |
| Hana - Live & Video Chat | Android | Not checked | 9.55M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #44 | Same model |
| Mochichat | Android | Not checked | 1.94M installs, Indonesia Entertainment Top Grossing #14 | Same model, ranks much higher in Indonesia |
| Tigo / Kito / Vava / ChillChat / Cherry / Litgo / Tacoo / Emma … | Android | 2019–2025 | Each a few million to tens of millions of installs | One template (matching + 1v1 + gifts + translation) with a new skin |
| Same-period new packages: Camio, Vazuno, Bandi, GiyaLive, Pal, Talkora, XXVX Live, and others | Android | 2026-08 to 10 | 90k–550k installs | Same batch of new shells as SoChat. Many developer names look borrowed ("Tahfidz Qur'an," "S Medical," "Tirupati General Store"). |
SoChat's own selling points are HD video, global matching and built-in translation. All are standard features in this category. I found no product-level differentiation in SoChat.
4. Growth tactics
| Channel | Evidence | Confirmed? |
|---|---|---|
| Paid acquisition (Google UAC / Meta / ad networks) | Installs rise in steps. A brief spike into Nigeria's Top Free top 100 dropped off quickly, a typical low-cost-country install push. Our Meta, TikTok (Europe) and Google ad libraries don't track it or Tina Live, but those libraries only cover products on our list, so a miss doesn't mean no spend. | Unconfirmed (inferred) |
| Shell packages and shell accounts | Minis was pulled, SoChat took over, and the site still uses the minis subdomain. The same developer has rolled out 5 packages. | Confirmed |
| Possible review inflation | The rating distribution has only 3-star and 5-star reviews. | Inferred |
| Cross-promotion between sister apps | Same backend and host pool, so Tina Live users may have been cross-promoted to SoChat. No direct evidence found. | Unconfirmed |
| Content / creators / social media | TikTok searches for "sochat" and "sochat video call" return nothing relevant (hits are Snapchat and SoulChat). Local X corpus: 90 posts in 0 days. | Confirmed none |
| Media / SEO | Only aggregator pages like AppBrain, APKPure, Softonic and Apptopia. There is also an unrelated Chinese enterprise IM also named "溯言 SoChat" (sochatlive.com). | Confirmed none |
Where the money comes from: users download for free, then pay coins per minute for 1v1 video with hosts (mostly female hosts signed to the platform or supplied by agencies), and send gifts. The highest one-off in-app purchase is $159.99, which points to big-spending "whale" users. Profit is the gap between host revenue share and paid acquisition cost. Indonesia is the core paying market; countries like Nigeria mainly provide cheap installs to prop up the charts and the matching pool.
5. Why it broke out
- The model and backend already exist. Tina Live already runs in Indonesia's social Top Grossing top 20, and SoChat reuses the same company's systems and positioning (same kubiapp.com domain).
- Swapping packages is how this industry survives. When Minis was pulled, SoChat launched right away, so acquisition and host supply never stopped. Its "rise" reflects the company keeping things running, not the market choosing a new product.
- Paid install inflation. Stepped installs plus a Nigeria chart push took it to 176k in two months. That is small for this category. Meanwhile, the new shell Live Idol Video Call gained 460k in 7 days.
- Indonesian willingness to pay and large gifts. Indonesia is a big market for 1v1 video companionship (more than twenty similar apps crowd its top grossing chart). A $159.99 single in-app purchase raises the value of each paying user, which is what makes paid acquisition affordable.
6. Differentiation
No. The features, copy and pricing all match hundreds of similar apps. If there is a difference, it's operational: running multiple packages at once (Tina Live covers global markets, SoChat goes after Indonesia's Entertainment category, and the two sit in separate SOCIAL and ENTERTAINMENT categories, each taking a chart slot), and swapping shells when a package goes down. That is how it survives in this industry, not why it outperforms its peers.
7. Visibility and copycats
- Visibility: few people know about it yet. No media coverage, no discussion on TikTok or X, no public revenue figures. But the category it sits in is an openly known red ocean in overseas-expansion circles, so this isn't an undiscovered opportunity.
- Copycats: It's hard to say who is copying SoChat. It is itself one of many copycats in this category, and more than a dozen new shell apps were launching in the same period.
8. What to borrow
- One company runs multiple packages, categories and shells in parallel. If one package is banned, the others keep running, and they take up more chart slots at once.
- The same backend gets re-skinned to build brands. Subdomains (minis.kubiapp.com, cool.kubiapp.com) are used to batch-host landing pages and privacy policies, meeting the minimum store compliance requirements.
- Installs from a low-cost country (Nigeria) are used to "pad" the charts and matching pool in the home market (Indonesia).
- But this path depends on host supply, content-moderation evasion and paid acquisition capability. For teams without those resources, it is very hard to replicate, and it carries Google Play policy risk (18+ ratings and sexually suggestive companion apps are a major source of bans).
9. Still unclear
- Actual acquisition channels and spend: none of the three ad libraries cover it.
- Actual revenue: AppGazers' estimate for Tina Live (<$5K/month) doesn't match its Top Grossing rank, so there may be off-store payments.
- Why Minis was pulled (policy violation or voluntary takedown), and the exact date.
- The team's real identity (whether it's a Chinese going-global team and which agencies it works with).
- Whether the abnormal rating distribution is review inflation or a Google data issue.