Glance Back at the Year: A Whirlwind of Fun in 2023!
Back in 2023, Glance made you a promise: your Android phone’s Lock Screen would never be boring again. After all, your smartphone deserves a Smart Lock Screen too!

No unlocking, no app hopping – just fresh, relevant, premium content you love - from thrilling sports and historic events to the hottest pop-culture, film, and fashion gossip. Here’s an episodic recap of the wildest Season yet on Glance from across the world – 2.0.2.3!

The one in which Glance said Hola, Olá, and Konnichiwa!

Last year, we rolled out a world map, picked up some dictionaries and learned three new languages: Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. This helped our Smart Lock Screen say Hola to consumers in Mexico and Colombia, Olá in Brazil, and こんにちは (Konnichiwa) in Japan!

Speaking of Japan, Aiko Ozawa, a content developer from Tokyo, visited India some years ago, discovering delight in every glance on the phone she bought locally. On returning, she missed her Smart Lock Screen so much, she made a flip book featuring lock screen images she’d saved. When she found out in 2023 that Glance had made it to Japan, she was all smiles again!

The one in which Glance passed the vibe check to top the charts!

Our engagement metrics on the lock screen this year were often mind boggling. How much did the mind boggle, you ask? Well, saying ‘impressions’ is so 2022; this year, we called them something way more relatable and meaningful: glances!

  • ICC Cricket World Cup content on the lock screen hit a jaw-dropping 23 billion glances – that's like every person in India glancing at their lock screen 17 times each!
  • Lakme Fashion Week had 15 million of you tuned in – more than the combined populations of fashion capitals New York, Los Angeles, and Paris!
  • It wasn’t just India that felt our vibe – consumers in Indonesia loved IFeLeague e-football tournament as well! Three tournaments over 44 days, 257 hours, participated by 19 official league 1 and 2 Indonesia football clubs.

We’re glad to have sprinkled a bit of magic into your lives, one glance at a time!

The one in which our consumers bonded in shared moments of pride!

Divided by language, geography, and weather, but always united by pride. We are proud to have served India and Indonesia’s proudest moments to millions of Smart Lock Screen consumers. The top ones:

  • 200,000 Indians watched the Chandrayan launch live on their lock screens and related content accumulated almost 2 billion glances which is almost 3 times the number of people who watched the first moon landing back in 1969!
  • Content from the G20 Summit which India hosted this year hit close to 4 billion lock screen glances. To put that into context, that’s 4 times the number of eligible voters estimated to participate in India’s 2024 elections!
  • During the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, India collectively watched nearly 70,000 hours of cricket content each day – the highs and the lows, all on the lock screen! That’s almost equal to eight years of cricket content (still not enough for us fans, if you ask us!).
  • In Indonesia, e-football fans were spoiled for choice, with Glance’s lineup of Nostra Goddess League, IFeL Invitational Ramadhan Series, IFeL SEA Championship and Trilogy of IFeLeague throughout 2023.

The one in which Glance became a massive virtual sports stadium!

  • The IPL in India had 75 million of you hooked on content, news, and updates.
  • This World Cup, 9 million fans from India cheered for the cricketing G.O.A.T, Virat Kohli to break the world record by hitting his 50th century and also competed for a chance to watch the Semi Finals match directly from the Star Sports studio.
  • Concluding a sports-filled year, Glance brought Pro Kabaddi League to Indian users capturing the attention of 20 million sports enthusiasts. That’s about the population of Beijing in China!
  • In addition to killing it with the Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) 3x3 Indonesia Tour 2023 in 5 cities online and offline event in Indonesia successfully got 5 million glances, here’s a shout-out to our consumers there for rocking the Nostra Goddess League with 97 million glances and IFeL SEA Championship with over 68 million glances on the lock screen!

Hear from Rayhan from South Tangerang, Indonesia, for leveling up his freestyle football skills through our content.

The one in which our consumers got a VIP pass to iconic pop-culture!

  • Glance was the golden ticket to the glam world this year, giving consumers once-in-lifetime access to exclusive entertainment content. We are proud to have helped our discerning consumers discover the latest in film and TV, taking them to pop culture paradise!
  • The year was filled with movie launches with over 50 theatrical releases appearing on our lock screens in India. One of the year's biggest blockbusters, ‘Tiger 3’, launched exclusive content and movie premiers on the lock screen with over 700 million glances. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dunki’ released its movie content and trailers to a whopping 681 million lock screen glances and gave a chance to fans to meet the legend himself. How huge is that? It’s around 15 times the followers he has on one of the largest social media platforms!
  • The biggest reality show in India, ‘Bigg Boss’ took over the country’s Smart Lock Screens and served up exclusive content, live shows, and a chance to meet Salman Khan. Consumers showered their love with over 6.03 billion glances and over 49 million users engaging regularly. What’s more, Netflix released two of its shows, 'Guns & Gulaabs' and 'Kala Pani' which garnered over 500 million glances. Glancing in 2023 for the win!

The one in which Glance was a gaming battleground for players!

In 2023, Glance leveled up your gaming experience, and brought the thrill straight to your lock screens with live game streaming. It was the year to level-up!

The top three games on Glance saw a whopping 423 million plays in 2023, equivalent to the whole of Australia playing 16 rounds! For comparison, remember everyone’s favourite ‘Solitaire’ by Microsoft? It’s been played by around 400 million people…since 1990.

By the way, our top games across markets:

  • Shape Shifting - 4.4 mins per user per day in Indonesia
  • Draw Fly - 4.64 mins per user per day in India
  • Wood Block Journey - 2 mins per user per day in Japan

That’s a whole lot of love for instant games on Smart Lock Screens around the world!

The one in which Glance drove discovery on other smart screens on your phones!

In 2023, Glance offered users in North America unique and premium experience across other mobile surfaces with Glance Smart Home Screen and Smart Folders.

Glance users enjoyed personalised content across news, sports, entertainment and gaming on their smart screens. Eliminating the clutter helped bring our consumers more of what was most relevant for them, at multiple touch points of interaction with their smartphones.

Users are spending nearly 2 minutes interacting with personalised and relevant content on their home screens. Some of the most consumed content pieces include horoscopes and the news – after all, who doesn't want to know the future? This immense consumer love for the Smart Home Screen has led to a 6.5x increase in users in just a few months.

So, how many valuable hours did Glance’s consumers save, for more meaningful experiences in their lives, in 2023? That’s incalculable, and so invaluable, it’s incredible! And the best of all…

The one in which our consumers found inspiration in every lock screen moment!

Glance became every consumer’s go-to for unlocking hidden talents, indulging in their passions, and finding inspiration. From 10 million users learning a word a day in English across India and Indonesia, to people finding their love for music, football, cooking, and self-care, here are some heartwarming stories that made it all worth it.

  • Hemanth, from India – an Indian Army aspirant who loves Mother India and his mom too! He found anti-aging tips right on the lock screen to better care for his mom, and is preparing for his army entrance exams with Glance’s help. That deserves a salute from us!
  • And hear from Ermida Dewita, a civil servant in South Tangerang, Indonesia, and a supermom. She stayed ahead of trends and viral stuff with Glance effortlessly amid her hectic schedule, without needing to hop in and out of apps.

As we bid adieu to 2023, a massive shoutout to our Glance family for making it epic! Get ready to ride the fun wave into 2024, where every glance spins a heartwarming story, and each glance continues to enrich your life!

Happy New Year and Happy Glancing in 2024!