Indian domestic workers move onto instant service apps

A growing group of technology startups in India is moving domestic work onto app-based platforms, changing a sector that has traditionally depended on word-of-mouth arrangements between households and workers.

The platforms, including Snabbit, Pronto and Urban Company, operate in a similar way to ride-hailing apps. Workers receive bookings online, travel to assigned homes and clock in on their phones. Their performance is tracked through ratings, while incentives and penalties are produced by algorithms.

India has long relied on domestic workers to mop floors, wash dishes and cook meals. The sector is unregulated and employs about 30 million people. The startups say they are trying to bring more structure to the work while giving workers and customers more flexibility.

At one Snabbit training hub in Bengaluru, women practise tasks such as folding bedsheets and chopping vegetables against the clock. Heena Bibi, a 34-year-old mother of four, said doing the same work through a company was good. She said she earns around 45,000 rupees, or $472, a month, about three times what workers typically earn through traditional arrangements with up to four customers. She said she normally gets three or four jobs a day and more work during festivals.

Domestic work in India has been linked to low wages and concerns about abuse or exploitation. The sector still attracts many people who migrate from rural areas to cities, partly because there are few barriers to entry. Many workers juggle jobs across several households in one day.

Some workers are cautious about the shift to apps. Renu Devi, a 38-year-old helper from Uttar Pradesh, said the traditional system feels safer because she knows and trusts the households where she works. She said she fears being sent to a house where she does not know whether she will be safe.

Labour advocates also question whether app-based work improves conditions. Sanjay Gaba, president of the All India Gig and Platform Workers Union, said the app system replaces one form of exploitation with another. He said workers do not have job security or benefits such as pensions because they are not permanent employees.

Snabbit founder and chief executive Aayush Agarwal said flexible hours are central to the platform's appeal. He said a mother can work for four hours after taking a child to school and return before the child comes home. He said workers view that opportunity positively.

Snabbit operates in 10 cities, including Delhi and Mumbai. It has 20,000 registered workers and records an average of 60,000 jobs a day.

Some customers say the apps are more convenient than fixed arrangements. Homemaker Atiya Khusro, 63, said she prefers booking help online because she does not have to adjust her routine around a regular worker's schedule.

The model is also spreading across India's gig economy. Pronto advertises hourly services including window cleaning and after-party clean-ups. Urban Company offers services ranging from repairs to salon treatments.

Workers undergo background checks, including police verification, before joining the platforms. They also receive soft-skills training, including how to tie their hair neatly and greet customers. Bhoomika Saigal, Snabbit's director of training and quality, said the company follows up when a worker receives a customer rating below four out of five.

Industry leaders say the apps are adding options rather than replacing traditional work. Agarwal said his aim is to bring domestic services online in the way ride-hailing moved transport services onto apps, so customers can open an app and find a booking slot when they need one.