Zoho’s Arattai sees renewed interest as WhatsApp rival but can it succeed where others failed?

Arattai

Arattai, a WhatsApp rival launched by Indian software giant Zoho in 2021, is witnessing renewed interest among consumers in the country.

The app has climbed to the top of Apple's App Store and is on track to break into the top 100 on Google Play, after previously ranking outside the top 500. Founder Sridhar Vembu said Arattai has seen a 100x surge in signups, jumping from around 3,000 to 3.5 lakh in just three days.

That said, challenging WhatsApp’s network effects will be an uphill task, given that it has become synonymous with instant messaging in India and is increasingly used by small businesses that run their entire operations on the app. WhatsApp’s business platform is also gaining significant traction among enterprises as well as state and central government agencies.

What’s driving Arattai's growth?

The surge comes amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for people to adopt 'swadeshi' products in their daily lives.

Over the past week, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan endorsed Arattai on social media, while IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has promoted Zoho's range of productivity products.

On September 22, Vaishnaw announced on social media platform X (previously Twitter) that he would be switching to Zoho’s tools for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and he recently conducted a cabinet briefing using Zoho Show.

"I urge all to join PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s call for Swadeshi by adopting indigenous products & services, " the IT minister said in a September 22 post on X social media platform.

What does Arattai offer?

Arattai, which means “casual chat” in Tamil, allows users to send texts and voice notes, make audio and video calls, and share photos, documents, and ephemeral stories visible for 24 hours.

The app also offers Channels, a broadcast feature similar to WhatsApp Channels.

In addition, Arattai allows users to host instant or scheduled meetings with up to 250 attendees and offers an Android TV app.

Zoho launched the app in 2021, amid a furore over WhatsApp's privacy policy changes that had led many people to seek alternative messaging apps. The app is part of the Chennai-based software firm’s consumer-focused portfolio, which also includes the web browser Ulaa.

Zoho notes that privacy is one of the key selling points of Arattai. All data is stored in India, and voice and video calls are currently end-to-end encrypted, meaning only the sender and receiver can access call content.

Messages are not currently end-to-end encrypted, although Zoho states that this feature is in the works. People can currently use the ‘secret chat’ feature for end-to-end message encryption.

WhatsApp already offers end-to-end encryption for all personal messages, calls, photos, and videos.

In a post on X social media platform on September 26, Vembu said the company has taken time to develop the app to ensure it works smoothly on low-end phones and low-bandwidth networks.

"We are diligently updating the app weekly. We are working on a lot of the features you expect and in another month, a lot of that will be done. We are also investing in the infrastructure for scaling. I am personally talking to the engineers daily on all this," Vembu said.

He added that Zoho also plans to launch a "big marketing campaign" for Arattai once these features are in place and the company has expanded its infrastructure to handle scaling challenges. Zoho is yet to respond to Moneycontrol's queries. The copy will be updated once they respond.

What’s the opportunity for Arattai?

Rising user frustration with the increasing number of spam and unsolicited marketing messages on WhatsApp could provide an opportunity for Arattai to attract those looking for a cleaner messaging experience.

“There is room for multiple messaging players in India and beyond. However, enjoying the same traction, network effects, and scale as WhatsApp organically is tough,” Neil Shah, Vice President at market research firm Counterpoint told Moneycontrol.

Could Arattai succeed where other apps failed?

Over the years, several local and international companies have attempted it but have not succeeded in making a dent in WhatsApp's popularity in the country.

Hike, started by Bharti Airtel scion Kavin Bharti Mittal in 2012, initially gained immense popularity in India, amassing 100 million users. However, the app was later shut down in January 2021.

Shah said that Arattai's endorsement from the government has given it credibility and exposure that previous apps, such as Hike, lacked.

He added that with growing geopolitical awareness, Indian users are becoming more cognisant of their privacy and the risks of sharing data with international companies.

As a result, Shah said, a renewed interest in the app, combined with the right "nationalistic" and "privacy-centric" positioning, key marketing partnerships, and a superior user experience strong enough to kickstart network effects could work in Arattai's favor.

That said, the messaging app is entering an “already mature and entrenched market with billions of users whose networks are already invested in WhatsApp. Therefore, a full-scale replacement of WhatsApp is not on the cards,” he told Moneycontrol.

What are the developers saying?

Developers say the road ahead will not be easy from a technical standpoint.

“The biggest gap is that Arattai doesn’t yet offer default end-to-end encryption for all messages, which has become table stakes for any messaging app,” said Girish Krishnan a developer working in Chennai, to Moneycontrol.

“They also need to ensure scalability of video calls and media sharing without performance lags, especially on budget smartphones and patchy 4G networks.” Another developer, who requested anonymity, added.

“Reliability and uptime are critical. If users experience even minor delays in message delivery or call drops, they will immediately revert to WhatsApp. Building infrastructure for that kind of scale is a non-trivial engineering challenge.”

Many users have reported glitches and app crashes in recent days as Arattai struggled to cope with the sudden spike in traffic.

What are the users saying?

Users, meanwhile, say adoption will hinge on whether the app feels as seamless as WhatsApp. “I like that it’s Indian and promises better privacy, but most of my contacts are not on Arattai yet,” said Shwetha S in Bengaluru.

Another user added, “The interface looks clean, but I’d only switch fully if it matched WhatsApp on basics like group stability, quick media sharing, and encryption.”

Not all feedback is cautious, though, Kumar.T an early user from Chennai, said: “I was surprised by how smooth video calls were, even on patchy mobile data. If Zoho keeps improving at this pace, I’d be happy to shift more of my conversations to Arattai."

The true test for Arattai will be whether it can convince users to make it a daily habit. While feature parity matters, the bigger challenge lies in overcoming WhatsApp’s network effect, which keeps millions of users connected across school, apartment, and workplace groups.