Zili for Android

Quick snapshot of the app

Zili was a free short-video entertainment app aimed primarily at Indian audiences. It offered a stream of brief, user-generated clips meant to amuse, inspire, or provoke thought. The interface and features were comparable to other vertical-video platforms, and the experience included advertisements that appear while browsing.

Ownership and country ties

The application was developed by Xiaomi, a company headquartered in China. Although many Indian users adopted Zili after TikTok’s ban, it was not listed among the Chinese apps officially prohibited by Indian authorities.

Typical content you’ll encounter

• Fresh music videos and new tracks showcased by creators
• Energetic dance clips and choreography
• Global talent showcases and creative performances
• Short comedic skits and movie-related snippets

Anyone could upload material, and creators who combined originality and humor often attracted larger followings.

Sharing, promotion, and limitations

Creators could easily distribute their videos to social networks such as WhatsApp and Facebook to reach more viewers. However, users frequently reported difficulty adding or finding music: search and sorting for tracks could return errors or show “No sorting”/“No search” notices, making soundtrack selection cumbersome.

End of service: what happened and deadlines

Zili announced that it would cease operations at 11:59 PM IST on March 13, 2023, citing an operational restructuring. From the date of that announcement onward, uploading content, viewing videos, and accessing creator profiles were disabled.

Before the shutdown completed, users were allowed to:

1. Download any videos they had uploaded
2. Redeem or convert accumulated Z-Points

After the service terminated, all user data was scheduled for removal from the servers and would no longer be recoverable.

If you were using Zili — next steps

• Save any personal videos to your device right away.
• Convert or withdraw any Z-Points before the cutoff time.
• Consider other short-video platforms if you want to continue creating or watching similar content.