Je Suis Charlie iPhone app gets over 1 million downloads in just two days

Of course there’s a Je Suis Charlie app.

In the name of freedom of expression and as a tribute to the massacre of 12 people in Paris, France last week, a Je Suis Charlie (or I Am Charlie) app has been launched on iTunes, achieving massive popularity around the globe.

A rather quick launch at that as iOS apps usually face lengthy approval processes from Apple. The developers from Nice Martin reportedly contacted CEO Tim Cook via email, asking for special treatment and support.

As you can imagine, Cook isn’t alone in his stance as over 1 million people (and growing fast) has already shown their support via the app, which basically just maps users’ location with the Je Suis Charlie sticker. This means the Je Suis Charlie app went from zero to hero in just 48 hours.

The apps popularity reflects the happenings of last weekend which saw over three million people — including prominent world leaders — march in the name of freedom of expression and as a sign of tribute in light of the tragedy in Paris.

Read more: 20 poignant #JeSuisCharlie tributes from around the world

Around the same time German and Belgium newspapers were threatened after publishing satirical cartoons, reporting on the Charlie Hebdo tragedy. Several German newspaper publications were placed under police protection.

Although these organisations were put under enormous pressure from terror threats, millions of people nonetheless took to the streets and Twitter feeds with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie.

The beauty of freedom of expression in today’s day-and-age however is that we’re not limited to the words of our news outlets. There’s this little thing called social media as well, which is pretty difficult to target.

There are a bunch of Je Suis Charlie apps on Google Play though all of them act as image holders for the Je Suis Charlie logo.