Urban Company, India’s home services giant, has rebranded its controversial 15-minute house-help booking service from ‘Insta Maids’ to ‘Insta Help’ after a wave of social media outrage and criticism from labour unions.
The move comes after netizens and worker advocacy groups slammed the original name and the company’s payment structure, calling it exploitative and undignified. While Urban Company defended the service as a way to “formalise and uplift” the domestic work sector, the Rs 49 per hour base pay for workers drew sharp criticism.
The company announced the name change on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Words matter. That’s why Insta Maids is now Insta Help – because dignity, respect, and progress start with the name, and go beyond. Thank you for your feedback and for helping us make this change.”
But critics argue that this is more than just a branding issue. Worker unions, including the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, have condemned the service model itself, calling it a “blatant exploitation of gig platform domestic workers.” Their concern? Urban Company’s micro-tasking approach forces domestic workers into a hyper-speed, low-pay structure, prioritising convenience for customers over fair wages and humane working conditions.
Even before the backlash, Urban Company seemed aware that its choice of words might stir debate. In a lengthy post on X, the company admitted that while “Insta Maids” was gaining traction, they had underestimated the cultural weight of the term. “From a marketing perspective, ‘Insta Maids’ was perfect – it resonated instantly with our target audience and was gaining traction fast. Lakhs of people searched for ‘Insta Maids’ on our app just over the weekend! This made the decision even harder,” the post read.
Yet, pressure mounted as social media users pointed out that the word “maid” carries gendered, outdated, and often demeaning connotations. Others were more direct: “Pay your workers a living wage,” one user wrote bluntly.
The company insists that its service partners can earn up to Rs 150-180 per hour (Rs 20,000-25,000 per month) and receive benefits such as free health insurance and accident coverage. However, with the base rate for shorter tasks starting at Rs 49, the gap between company rhetoric and worker reality remains a contentious issue.
While Urban Company’s pivot from ‘Insta Maids’ to ‘Insta Help’ may be a victory for semantics, labour rights advocates argue that real progress will only come when fair pay and ethical working conditions take centre stage—not just rebranding efforts.