Aitu
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
Aitu is a Kazakhstani messenger that has grown into a super-app: alongside chats and calls it runs channels, a content feed, music, mini-games, quizzes, a wallet and a catalogue of third-party mini-apps. The developer is BTS Digital LLP of Astana; the platform's help centre names it as the author of the product and gives the company's address and contacts.
Aitu's defining feature is institutional rather than technical. In August 2025 the app was granted national messenger status, and the Digital Headquarters chaired by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan ruled that civil servants were to be moved onto AITU by 15 September 2025; the same statement says the pilot ran at the Ministry of Digital Development and that the service is now being rolled out across all state bodies and quasi-public-sector organisations.
For international SMM this means the following: Aitu is not a global platform and not an alternative to Telegram in terms of reach, but a local channel in one country where businesses get an official API for customer messaging and a storefront for mini-apps. The site itself calls the product the "First national messenger".
Who's here
The audience figures differ between the platform's own pages, and we give them as they stand, noting where each one comes from.
In the footer of its home page Aitu states: "Monthly number of users — 700,000"; the line carries no date. A developer press release dated 12 February 2026 gives a more granular picture: the active audience of the Aitu ecosystem exceeded 900 thousand people a month by the end of 2025, ecosystem services are used by "up to 190 thousand people daily", and the Aitu SuperApp app itself has "an active audience of more than 500 thousand users per month (MAU)". So the 900 thousand figure covers the whole ecosystem including partner projects (the company names Telecom.kz and Platonus), not a single app. Meanwhile the page for developer partners promises "1 million daily users" — which contradicts both the home page footer and the press release; that page carries no date either.
External storefronts give figures the platform does not control directly. Google Play shows more than 1 million downloads, a 4.6 rating and about 67.9 thousand reviews, while the Kazakhstani App Store shows a 4.4 rating from 13 thousand ratings and 12th place in the Social Networking category. Downloads and chart positions are not the same as an active audience.
Geography and languages: the company address is Kazakhstani, the rules are built on Kazakhstani law, and the Google Play description says the app is available in Kazakh, Russian and English; the App Store listing confirms the same three interface languages.
One more angle — channels: according to the developer, between August and December 2025 users created more than 1,800 new channels, bringing the total past 42 thousand; the fastest-growing topics were "News", "Business", "Society", "Technology" and "Culture".
Getting started
You register with a phone number: enter the number, receive an SMS code, give a first and last name, and add a photo if you want; after that you can start messaging. Each number is a separate account.
An important difference for SMM: until you set a username, your profile stays closed. The help centre explains that once a username is added the profile becomes public — people can find you, message you and invite you to channels without knowing your number, and you get a profile link you can share outside the app. Without this step there is no public presence in Aitu.
The user agreement sets two conditions at the door: the app may be used by adults (minors, in the manner provided for by Kazakhstani law), and the app itself must be downloaded from Google Play or the App Store.
A channel is created by the user; the help centre lists the fields: name, avatar, description, age restrictions, topic and channel type, and for a public channel the "link" field is mandatory. The verification badge is given to channels and profiles of public figures, brands and organisations: applications go to [email protected] or to the @moderator_group account, and the platform asks for documents to identify the applicant, listing eleven categories — from authors and opinion leaders to media and sport.
Devices: the help centre says there are iOS and Android versions, that smartphones, tablets and computers are supported, and that you can be logged in on any number of devices at once.
What you can publish
The formats the platform describes itself: text, stickers and reactions, voice messages, audio and video calls, photos, videos, documents. The public tools are channels (the owner publishes content for subscribers) and public groups (real-time messaging); the definitions are given in the moderation policy.
The numeric limits the platform states outright:
- group size — up to 200,000 members;
- in business messaging via the API, message text is no more than 4096 characters, the sender name up to 100 characters, and inline buttons no more than 10 per message;
- the file upload method accepts jpeg, mp4, m4a, mp3, gif, png and the types document, image, video, audio, music.
Prohibited content is listed twice: threats and insults, pornography, cruelty to animals, descriptions of suicide methods, incitement of racial and religious hatred, extremist materials, instructions for committing crimes, state and commercial secrets, drug advertising, fraud, phishing links, promotion of paid intimate services — the list appears in the help centre and in the moderation policy.
How to grow
The help centre suggests finding channels and groups through search and the "Popular" tab.
Advertising. Aitu publishes no rate card, but the list of formats on the BTS Digital partner page is public: push notifications, full-screen banners, promoted posts in the content feed, a banner in the "Music" tab, plus banners, stories and top pinning in the service marketplace. The same page describes a "service sends a direct message" format. Terms are discussed at [email protected]; there is no public media kit.
A separate growth channel is mini-apps. The aitu.apps catalogue is open to third-party developers: the partner page promises free publication, promotion and support, payments without App Store and Google Play commissions, and a turnaround "from application to publication of no more than 72 hours". The documentation words the deadline differently: moderation takes "no more than one business day".
Path to monetization
Aitu has no public creator payout programme: neither the help centre, nor the moderation policy, nor the user agreement, nor the documentation describes channel monetization — there are no thresholds, no conditions, no payout geography. What is more, the rules restrict commercial initiative: a user fills their own space inside the app "for personal, non-commercial purposes", and using the app for lotteries, votes, contests, quizzes, advertising and polls is prohibited, except where it is done by the Company or by Partners with its written permission.
Here you are meant to earn not as a channel author but as a company — through partnership. There are two schemes in open sources. The first is a mini-app in the aitu.apps catalogue with built-in payments: the platform stresses "payments without AppStore or Google Play commissions" and native tools for authorisation, promotion and payment. The second is BTS Digital's partner formats: joint B2B sales, ad placement and a B2E model with the service integrated into the Aitu WorkSpace corporate platform, where the company promises a "joint monetization model".
Tools and automation
Aitu has public documentation at docs.aitu.io; its index lists four major blocks.
Business Chat API — the main tool for brands. The documentation describes it as functionality for integrating third-party systems with the messenger: receiving and sending messages, working with images, video and documents, sending automatic notifications (order confirmations, request statuses) and OTP authorisation codes. The developer confirmed the launch in a post dated 8 June 2026: Business Chat lets you connect operators, chatbots and AI through the API. The methods run on the businesschatapi.aitu.io domain: sendMessage, readMessage, editMessage, upload, plus callbacks for incoming messages, read receipts and edits. Access is not self-service — you have to fill in a form and send it to [email protected]. There is a separate section on mass communications (the sendBatchMessage method) for verified business accounts; for ordinary users the agreement prohibits mass mailings (see below).
aitu.apps and Aitu Bridge. Mini-apps are web services that open in the built-in mobile browser and get access to platform capabilities through the Aitu Bridge interface. Bridge provides the methods getMe, getPhone, getContacts, getGeo, share, storage, checkBiometry and notification handling; the library sits on npm as @btsd/aitu-bridge — the link is on the documentation's front page. An app must run on iOS 11 and above and Android 5 (API 22) and above, be optimised for edge, 3G, 4G and LTE, and work over https with a valid certificate; applications are submitted from the developer console at aitu.io/dev. There is also a Business Notifications API — targeted push notifications, push to all users of a mini-app, and direct messages from it.
Aitu Passport — signing in through Aitu on external sites: single authentication, retrieval of user data over the OAuth 2.0 protocol, issuance and storage of a cloud digital signature, document signing and signature verification; there are iOS and Android SDKs and a biometric identification module.
No third-party SMM services. No known scheduling, analytics or moderation service claims support for Aitu: as of the verification date you cannot schedule posts with the usual tools, only through your own integrations via the APIs described above.
A note on freshness: the Business Chat API section is marked as updated two months ago, while the mini-app materials are out of date — the front page and the introduction to aitu.apps are marked "Last updated 2 years ago", and the last entry in the library changelog is dated 26 April 2022. The numbers there ("more than 800,000 unique users", "more than 45 apps in the catalogue") are two years old and do not match today's figures.
Limits and rules
The user agreement prohibits mass mailing of advertising, informational and other materials to other users without their consent — clause 5.1.1. The moderation policy backs the ban with a sanction: a warning demanding removal of the material (within 30 minutes) and a ban of 14–30 days.
Annex No. 1 to the policy is an open table of penalties, a rare thing for a messenger: extremist materials and pornography — a 30–60 day ban; phishing links, drug propaganda and instructions for committing crimes — a permanent ban; threats and insults — 14–30 days. It is all set out in the policy.
Moderation is post-moderation with machine learning: the platform says that ML algorithms automatically analyse content and hide questionable posts, with a moderator making the final decision. Complaints go through the "Report" button, the @moderator_group chat and the [email protected] mailbox; the company undertakes to handle them within 20 calendar days. A blocked channel remains accessible to its owner, but nothing can be posted in it; appeals are filed through the same chat or mailbox. The legal frame is Kazakhstani: the policy allows accounts to be suspended on the order of the authorised state body regulating online platforms and online advertising.
Data. The agreement includes consent to receive advertising information from the company and third parties and a broad consent to the processing of personal data; content you upload is licensed to the company and its partners to operate and promote the app. The help centre adds that requests concerning private chats and groups are not processed. The App Store lists the data collected that is not linked to identity: financial information, contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics — per the developer's declaration.
Security. The help centre states that voice and video calls run with end-to-end encryption; the developer reports two-factor authentication with video identification when signing in from a new device, and secret chats where messages are not stored on servers. The age rating differs between stores: Google Play shows 12+, the App Store — 18+.
Who it's for
Aitu is worth considering if your audience is in Kazakhstan. There are three scenarios: B2G communications (civil servants were moved onto the messenger by a Digital Headquarters decision); customer support via the Business Chat API — an official, documented channel with notifications and OTP; and your own mini-app in the aitu.apps catalogue with free publication and payments free of store commissions.
The platform is not for you if you are after reach beyond Kazakhstan: the monthly audience the platform itself claims is measured in hundreds of thousands, and all of it is local. It is also not for authors counting on content monetization: there is no payout programme, and the personal, non-commercial framing is written into the rules. And if you run many platforms through a single scheduler, Aitu will fall out of the process — no scheduling service we know of supports it.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the developer is BTS Digital LLP, Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, Esil district, 60/2 Syganak St., block "O", 15th floor
The "About Aitu" section of the help centre; the same section gives the e-mail [email protected] and the site btsdigital.kz
source, checked 2026-07-28
the site calls the product the "First national messenger" and "More than just a messenger"
The platform's own wording, not our assessment. The page is assembled by a script and was read in a browser
source, checked 2026-07-28
super-app: messenger, channels, content feed, Aitu Music, Aitu Games, quizzes, wallet, mini-app catalogue
The list of blocks on the home page
source, checked 2026-07-28
by decision of the Digital Headquarters chaired by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, civil servants are being moved onto AITU by 15 September 2025 · the source is dated 2025-08-18
Official resource of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, published on 18 August 2025. The pilot ran at the Ministry of Digital Development (МЦРИАП)
source, checked 2026-07-28
App Store: version 1.177.0, size 145.2 MB, requires iOS 16.0 or later, provider BTS Digital, TOO
On the verification date the page showed an update "1 day ago"
source, checked 2026-07-28
Google Play: the app was last updated on 27 July 2026
Date taken from the store listing
source, checked 2026-07-28
the help centre states that voice and video calls use end-to-end encryption
The platform's claim; we found no independent audits
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer reports two-factor authentication with video identification when signing in from a new device, and secret chats where messages are not stored on servers · the source is dated 2026-02-05
Published on 5 February 2026
source, checked 2026-07-28
Who's here
the platform states: "Monthly number of users — 700,000"
A line in the footer of the home page, with no date attached
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer states: the active audience of the Aitu ecosystem at the end of 2025 was over 900 thousand people per month · the source is dated 2026-02-12
BTS Digital press release of 12 February 2026. The ecosystem includes the partner projects Telecom.kz and Platonus
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer states: the Aitu SuperApp app has an active audience of more than 500 thousand users per month (MAU)
The same press release; this figure covers the app itself, not the whole ecosystem
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer states: ecosystem services are used by up to 190 thousand people daily
Data "for the last six months" as of the publication date 12.02.2026
source, checked 2026-07-28
the page for developer partners claims an audience of "1 million daily users"
Contradicts the home page footer (700,000 per month) and the press release (190 thousand per day). The page carries no date
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer reports for one month: more than 2 million text messages, over 180 thousand media files, about 150 thousand reactions, more than 24 thousand audio calls, 21 thousand voice messages, more than 6,500 groups
"In the past month alone", relative to 12.02.2026
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer states: between August and December 2025 more than 1,800 new channels were created, and the total number of channels passed 42 thousand · the source is dated 2026-02-05
Published on 5 February 2026; the fastest-growing topics were "News", "Business", "Society", "Technology", "Culture"
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer states: the monthly audience reached more than 700 thousand people after the national messenger status was granted
Published on 05.02.2026; the same post claims daily frequency grew "almost sevenfold", with no methodology disclosed
source, checked 2026-07-28
Google Play listing: more than 1 million downloads, 4.6 rating, about 67.9 thousand reviews, 12+ age category
Store listing, developer BTSDigital. Downloads are not the same as an active audience
source, checked 2026-07-28
App Store listing (Kazakhstan): 4.4 rating from 13 thousand ratings, 12th place in the Social Networking category, 18+ age rating
The age rating differs from Google Play (12+)
source, checked 2026-07-28
Sources diverge: the platform claims 700,000 users a month (the home page footer) and 1 million users a day (the partners page). A daily audience cannot by definition exceed a monthly one, so one of the two figures is wrong; which one, the platform does not explain
Both figures are the platform's own statements. We do not choose between them: the choice would be our guess. A contradiction is named, not an answer
source, checked 2026-08-07
Getting started
registration by phone number: enter the number, receive an SMS confirmation code, then give a first and last name; a photo is optional
The "Registration" section of the help centre
source, checked 2026-07-28
when a channel is created you specify a name, avatar, description, age restrictions, topic and channel type; for a public channel the "link" field is mandatory
The "Channels in Aitu" section
source, checked 2026-07-28
Account and access
a profile becomes public only after a username is added: from then on people can find you, message you and invite you to channels without knowing your phone number
The "Editing your profile" section. The key condition for working publicly
source, checked 2026-07-28
each phone number is a separate account; you can be logged in on any number of devices at once
The sections "I have a new phone number" and "Which devices can I use"
source, checked 2026-07-28
the verification badge is given to channels and profiles of public figures, brands and organisations; applications go to [email protected] or to @moderator_group, and the platform asks for documents
11 categories are listed: authors and opinion leaders, business, charity, gaming industry, film, culture, music, education, society, media, sport
source, checked 2026-07-28
The only condition the platform describes is the verification badge for a profile or a channel: it is granted on application to [email protected] or in @moderator_group, with documents confirming that the request comes from the real owner of the profile or an official representative of the organisation; it does not affect publishing or creating channels
Verification opens only the badge, not features; conditions of the «N subscribers» or «after N days» kind are not in the help centre
source, checked 2026-08-07
Business terms
Aitu Apps: publication is free, the stated turnaround is "from application to publication no more than 72 hours", payments carry no AppStore or Google Play commissions, support is round-the-clock
The same page claims "1 million users daily", "70+ current partners", "300 games in Aitu Games" — the page carries no date
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer announces the launch of Business Chat: companies connect operators, chatbots and AI through the API · the source is dated 2026-06-08
BTS Digital post of 8 June 2026
source, checked 2026-07-28
What you can publish
Text length. The limits are announced in the description of the message sending method: the text of a message — "max 4096"; the name of the sender (sender.name) — "string max 100"; the title of a button, the body of a button and the text shown to the user — "max 100" each; the number of buttons in a message — "max 10". In a mailing the unique value of a message (correlation_id) — "string max 200"
the limits are taken from the validation column in the description of the sendMessage method of the business interface; the documentation sets no separate limit for the caption to media
source, checked 2026-08-04
Images. The documentation does not set formats and a size for an image directly. From the list of kinds of files: "the mimetype of the file: unknown, jpeg, mp4, m4a, mp3, gif, png". For the "share an image" method the encoding is stipulated: the image "Must begin with data:image/jpeg;base64, data:image/png;base64 or data:image/gif;base64". There is neither a maximum size, nor dimensions in pixels, nor an aspect ratio in the documentation
the formats are derived from the list of mimetypes and not from a separate requirement; the "share" method — https://docs.aitu.io/aituapps/aitu.apps/methods/shareimage.md
source, checked 2026-08-04
Video. There are no separate requirements for video. Video appears as a kind of content ("The type of content: document, image, video, audio, music") and as the mp4 mimetype. The documentation names neither a codec, nor a resolution, nor a size, nor an aspect ratio — the width, the height and the duration are only returned in the response after the upload
the platform returns the properties of a file, but sets no requirements for it
source, checked 2026-08-04
Audio is set apart into separate kinds of content — audio and music, the mimetypes m4a and mp3, and for both the duration is returned in the response. The documentation sets neither a bit rate, nor a sampling rate, nor a maximum size
audio on this platform is an independent kind of material, but there are no numerical requirements for it
source, checked 2026-08-04
A file is uploaded by a separate request in the multipart/form-data format, and its size is returned in the response, but the documentation names no maximum size. A mailing limit is announced: "The maximum number of recipients per request is 300", and moreover "The telephone numbers in the list of users must be unique"
the file size limit is not published; the limit of 300 is about the number of recipients per request, not about the number of files
source, checked 2026-08-04
Content
prohibited: threats and insults, pornography, cruelty to animals, descriptions of suicide methods, incitement of racial and religious hatred, extremist materials, instructions for committing crimes, state secrets, drug advertising, fraud, phishing links, paid intimate services
The list is in the "Groups, chats and channels" section of the help centre, and is duplicated in the moderation policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
Advertising
ad placement formats: push notifications, full-screen banners, promoted posts in the content feed, a banner in the "Music" tab, banners, stories and top pinning in the service marketplace, a message to the user from a service
There are no prices, minimum budgets or targeting options on the page; contact [email protected]
source, checked 2026-07-28
no self-service ad account was found in open sources: placement is arranged by correspondence with the partner department
The absence was confirmed by reading the whole partnership formats page
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
there is no public creator payout programme: thresholds, conditions and payout geography are described neither in the help centre, nor in the rules, nor in the documentation
We checked /faq, /terms, /regulations and docs.aitu.io: there is no section on channel monetization
source, checked 2026-07-28
Limits and restrictions
group size — up to 200,000 members
The "Limit on the number of members in groups" section
source, checked 2026-07-28
the sendMessage method: message text no more than 4096 characters, sender name up to 100 characters, no more than 10 inline buttons per message, 100 characters each for title, body and display_text
Endpoint POST https://businesschatapi.aitu.io/bc/v1/sendMessage
source, checked 2026-07-28
the upload method accepts the mimetypes jpeg, mp4, m4a, mp3, gif, png and the content types document, image, video, audio, music; the maximum file size is not stated in the documentation
Endpoint POST https://businesschatapi.aitu.io/bc/v1/upload, multipart/form-data
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
after registering, a user gets the right to fill their own space inside the app "for personal, non-commercial purposes"
Clause 7.2 of the moderation policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
using the app for lotteries, votes, contests, quizzes, advertising and polls is prohibited, except where it is done by the Company or by Partners with its written permission
Clause 5.1.9 of the user agreement — a direct restriction on contest mechanics in SMM
source, checked 2026-07-28
mass mailing of advertising, informational and other materials to other users without their consent is prohibited
Clause 5.1.1 of the user agreement
source, checked 2026-07-28
for mailing without consent: a warning demanding removal of the material (within 30 minutes), then a ban of 14–30 days
Annex No. 1 to the moderation policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
table of sanctions: extremist materials and pornography — a 30–60 day ban; phishing links, drug propaganda, instructions for committing crimes, incitement to suicide — a permanent ban; threats and insults — 14–30 days
Annex No. 1 to the moderation policy, an open table of penalties
source, checked 2026-07-28
moderation is post-moderation: machine learning algorithms automatically analyse content and hide anything questionable, and a moderator makes the final decision
Clauses 3.1 and 8.2 of the moderation policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
the company undertakes to process complaints it receives within 20 calendar days and to reply to the user
Clause 6.9 of the moderation policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
on a blocked channel subscribers cannot enter and the owner can enter but cannot post; appeals go through @moderator_group or [email protected]
Clause 6.4 of the moderation policy
source, checked 2026-07-28
Moderation
Verbatim: «После подачи апелляции посредством чата в Aitu @moderator_group или почты [email protected] в Приложении пользователем возможна разблокировка аккаунта/канала/группы» (our translation: after the user submits an appeal through the Aitu chat @moderator_group or the email [email protected] in the App, the account, channel or group may be unblocked). The moderator states the reason for the block after the block. No deadline for submitting an appeal is named
The moderation procedure regulation, clause 6.4; the page is an SPA, and the text is delivered at aitu.io/locales/ru/regulations.json
source, checked 2026-08-07
Legal
the app may be used by adult users; minors, in the cases and in the manner provided for by Kazakhstani law
Clause 3.1 of the user agreement
source, checked 2026-07-28
the agreement does not allow use of the app if it was downloaded outside Google Play or the App Store
Clause 3.2 of the user agreement
source, checked 2026-07-28
the policy allows account activity to be suspended on the order of the authorised state body regulating online platforms and online advertising
Clauses 4.8 and 6.8; the legal frame is the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan
source, checked 2026-07-28
by uploading content, the user grants the company a territorially unlimited licence and permission for it to be used by the company and its partners to operate and promote the app
Clause 4.1.2 of the user agreement
source, checked 2026-07-28
by entering into the agreement, the user consents to receiving advertising information both from third parties and from the company
Clause 3.9 of the user agreement
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform does not review private chats and groups: requests relating to them are not processed
The "Security" section of the help centre
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer declares collection of data not linked to identity: financial information, contact details, contacts, user content, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics
The App Privacy block of the App Store listing
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
Business Chat API — integration of third-party systems with the messenger: receiving and sending messages, media, automatic notifications, OTP authorisation codes
The page was marked "Last updated 2 months ago" on the verification date
source, checked 2026-07-28
access to the Business Chat API is not self-service: you have to fill in a form and send it to [email protected]
The "Access and verification" section of the documentation
source, checked 2026-07-28
mini-apps open in the built-in mobile browser and get access to the platform through the Aitu Bridge interface
The page is marked "Last updated 2 years ago": the numbers on it are out of date
source, checked 2026-07-28
requirements for publishing a mini-app: it must run on iOS 11+ and Android 5 (API 22)+, be optimised for edge, 3G, 4G and LTE, and use https with a valid certificate
The "Preparing for publication" section
source, checked 2026-07-28
moderation of a mini-app publication request takes no more than one business day
The platform's own /apps page names a different deadline — "no more than 72 hours"
source, checked 2026-07-28
the developer console is at aitu.io/dev and requires authorisation
The page returns only a sign-in prompt: we did not check the contents of the console
source, checked 2026-07-28
Aitu Passport: single authentication for partner services, retrieval of user data over the OAuth 2.0 protocol, issuance and storage of a cloud digital signature, document signing and verification
There are iOS and Android SDKs and a biometric identification module (CID)
source, checked 2026-07-28
the changelog of the aitu-bridge library ends with an entry dated 26 April 2022
Grounds for treating the mini-app documentation section as out of date
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: en
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
the app is available in Kazakh, Russian and English
The developer's statement in the app description; the App Store listing also shows three interface languages
source, checked 2026-07-28
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