Astrology apps on the rise in India, but who guarantees their credibility?

New Delhi: Astrology has long been embedded in Indian culture, but the sudden explosion of astrology apps in recent years has made it impossible to ignore.

Open any app store today, and one category is hard to ignore: astrology apps. Their surge is undeniable, with millions of downloads and a steady stream of advertisements across Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, and OTT platforms.

What was once a niche, word-of-mouth phenomenon has now transformed into a mainstream digital category vying for consumer attention.

The question is: what are these apps really offering, how much of it is driven by AI, and are vulnerable users being misled under the guise of mysticism?

The surge of astrology apps in India

As Rahul Vengalil, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of Tgthr, observed, “If you look at the growth of astrology apps, it has been on the back burner, and it has been gaining organic popularity for a very long time. You have not seen advertising done for an astrology app for a very long time. Everything was organic; people were searching for it, and people were getting it.”

That has changed. Today, apps that once relied on word-of-mouth and search-based discovery are investing heavily in advertising across platforms. “If you look at what's happening now, astrology apps have been advertising. So they have also realised that organic growth is over with whatever; it could be AI, it could be maturism and saturation of new users, etc. But now they are trying to build the brand, they are trying to build credibility for what they are doing, and they are also building credibility around key astrologers in India,” said Vengalil.

Industry veteran Vivek Srivastava of Integrated Brand Heuristics, however, placed astrology apps in a longer historical arc. “Astro forecasts aren’t new & have been around for decades. Newspapers have a section on it. In the early 90, there was an IVR-based service too by a company called World Phone (I remember what a hotly contested ad agency pitch it was!). After a year or two of euphoria, the brand sank without a trace,” Srivastava shared.

The gullibility question

But what about vulnerable consumers? The ethical concern lies not in the existence of these apps, but in the way they are marketed. Many platforms advertise dramatic claims, promises of winning back an ex, finding a dream house, or discovering one’s destined life partner. These claims are not just bold; they are unverifiable. When vulnerable users see celebrities endorsing such services, the credibility multiplies, raising the stakes if promises do not materialise.

Vengalil underlined that credibility is now the only real growth lever for astrology apps. “Gen AI is using stuff which is publicly available, getting to the source is also difficult. So the only thing which is left for astrology apps is building credibility around certain people, certain astrologers and then growing from there on,” he said.

Meanwhile, Srivastava argued, astrology apps are more entertainment than serious guidance. “The category, in my view, via apps and online platforms, adds to a bit of entertainment and mirth amongst a fair set of audiences. For others, as we have seen via research-based insights, it’s simply a sounding board, much like using the Ramcharitmanas or the Holy Bible to answer a few tricky doubts,” he added.

Srivastava also drew the line sharply for the gullible. “For the gullible, no amount of legislation or regulation can help. Unlike finance, which follows a domain of logic and empirical data trail, astrology is purely subjective and should, in my view, be put under the same category as magic remedies or quackery. No need to waste regulatory resources on such flippant things. Like I said, for the gullible, there can be no protection from any quarter. Superstition has no cure. There is no antidote except for education and upbringing that imparts confidence and self-belief and not a belief in stones on your ring, etc.,” he added.

The shift is telling; what began as entertainment has now entered a phase where apps claim to shape major life decisions. This evolution raises the stakes for regulators and consumer protection bodies.

What advertising body says

“Advertising of astrology apps, like other advertising, is subject to the ASCI Code. Chapter 1 of the Code states: ‘Advertisements must be truthful. All descriptions, claims and comparisons, which relate to matters of objectively ascertainable fact, should be capable of substantiation.’ Advertisers and agencies must be able to produce such substantiation when called upon, and this requirement applies across sectors,” Manisha Kapoor, CEO & Secretary General of ASCI, drew a clear line. 

The concern, she stressed, is about consumer harm. “The central question is the potential for real consumer harm if claims are misleading, unsubstantiated or untruthful. Where advertising can influence major life decisions or expose consumers to emotional harm, it must be held to appropriately rigorous standards of truthfulness and transparency.”

Kapoor also placed responsibility across the entire ecosystem. “Accountability lies across the chain, advertisers, agencies, platforms and endorsers; they all have a duty to comply with the Code,” she added.

Meanwhile, Srivastava offered a sobering perspective. “Formal rules may not exist under ASCI code, but the Consumer Protection Act does accord some protection to aggrieved users under the broader ambit of the section dealing with Misleading Ads. It’s a binary world out there. Not all People literally run their lives based on the apps or such predictions,” he said.

The risky business of celebrity endorsements

Celebrity involvement makes the debate even sharper. Apps are increasingly bringing actors, influencers, and well-known personalities into their ad campaigns. “Celebrities have a strong following and therefore high credibility among consumers. So, advertisements featuring them must doubly ensure that claims made are not misleading, false or unsubstantiated,” Kapoor warned. 

Meanwhile, Srivastava shared a nuanced take. “Endorsing brands in this category will go against the very grain of their persona of a liberated, modern, confident individual. The exception could be supporting character actors who may fit the bill. But honestly, I see limited appeal for celebs here. It’s a tricky line to walk,” he said.

AI disruption on the horizon?

The irony is that while astrology apps are leveraging AI to automate responses and personalise horoscopes, the same technology threatens to disrupt them. “Gen AI is basically using stuff which is publicly available; getting to the source is also difficult,” Vengalil noted. This opens the door for free tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity, which can generate similar predictions at no cost. Why then would a user pay a premium to an app when AI-powered chatbots can produce the same results? 

Rahul Vengalil contextualised it well. “Astrology is an extension of faith. Even the most educated person would believe in astrology. Gen AI and AI are still very much an urban+young adult phenomenon, whereas religious dependence and astrology seep in at an older age. This will stay for some more time, till the general becomes older, and then you would have a decline. By then, though, astrology platforms might become a marketplace for everything spiritual or maybe some other pivots,” he said.