Tajikistan government launches messaging app to rival WhatsApp, Telegram

Tajikistan has launched a national messenger app to rival the likes of WhatsApp, Telegram and others. According to a news agency by Reuters, the app called ORIZ was announced by the Tajik government communications service.

Mimicking similar projects in Russia and Kazakhstan, the app is “an important step towards Tajikistan's digital independence”, the government said. It further states that the app is aimed at the Tajik migrants working in Russia, where access to Telegram and WhatsApp is limited.With the ORIZ, the Tajik government claims that all user data would be stored within Tajikistan. "Dependence on foreign networks can harm information security", it said.In recent years, several post-Soviet countries have shown interest in creating their own national messaging apps to replace WhatsApp and Telegram, which are still widely used in the region. Russian officials have been promoting MAX, a state-backed messenger from Moscow, while Kazakhstan has been doing the same with its Aitu app.