A new Indian messaging app, Arattai, is gaining attention as a potential alternative to WhatsApp. Developed by Chennai-based Zoho Corporation, Arattai has been promoted by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who highlighted its free, easy-to-use, secure, and safe features on social media platform X.
The word “Arattai” in Tamil means casual chat. The app is designed for everyday conversations, supporting text messages, photos, videos, and documents, along with voice and video calling, story features, and channel management.
Voice & Video Calls: End-to-end encryption (E2EE) ensures calls remain private.
Messages: Currently, text messages are not end-to-end encrypted, making it less secure than WhatsApp.
Low Bandwidth Compatibility: Works efficiently in areas with weak or intermittent internet connections and on low-cost smartphones.
Zoho Corporation, founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, is headquartered in Chennai and serves over 130 million users across 150 countries. Zoho offers more than 55 business applications, including email, CRM, HR, accounting, and project management tools.
While Arattai offers features similar to WhatsApp, it cannot fully compete yet, primarily due to lack of E2EE for messages. WhatsApp’s strong encryption ensures only the sender and receiver can read messages, giving it an edge in user privacy. Arattai currently encrypts only calls, leaving messages vulnerable—a critical factor for privacy-conscious users.
