India’s homegrown messaging app by Zoho Corporation, Arattai, just shot past WhatsApp and Telegram to claim the No. 1 spot in app stores. But is it enough to make the switch?
As of this morning, the “Atmanirbhar” brainchild of entrepreneur Sridhar Vembu was numero uno in Apple Store’s Social Networking category with a 4.7 out of 5 rating (from 1.5K ratings).
On Google Play Store, it was seventh in the Communication category, but the best rated—4.8 stars out of 5 from 26K ratings, and more than 10 lakh downloads.
But is this sudden virality worth the download? Is it finally the time to switch from Zuck’s overtly connected interface? Or are we getting ahead of ourselves?
Remember the “Twitter killer” hype around the Koo app? Whatever happened to that, right?
Reports say that Vembu had planned for an infrastructure upgrade in November, but now, the B2B communications suite maker is in a “mad scramble” to scale up the backend for the app. And IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s recent endorsements just added to the hype train.
Arattai claims “world-class privacy,” but its own official FAQ as of today subtly notes that only calls—not texts—are protected with end-to-end encryption.
The app’s servers are in India. This means quick compliance with domestic law enforcement requests. This is not really good news for privacy sticklers who want chat content absolutely sealed—even from the company itself.
Zoho pledges no ads, no data monetisation, and full data sovereignty, but that does not answer the encryption riddle.
In true “Trust Me Bro” fashion, the official FAQ reads: “Arattai was built by the creators at Zoho. Our 10+ years of experience building communication and collaboration apps for enterprises [were] leveraged to deliver this app.
Additionally, Zoho Corporation’s industry-leading commitment to user privacy has cemented the app’s journey.”
Zoho might have got the best out of the deal with user acquisition, but it needs to sustain it.
For that, it needs to iron out major hurdles. In India, it needs to give users clarity on data surveillance and the nature of legal access to unencrypted chats. For it to take a foothold in the EU, its current encryption will not do.
Moreover, GDPR rules apply. In the US, the CLOUD Act, lawful access protocols and even individual state privacy laws will need to be adhered. And the protocols in the GCC countries are an entirely different ball game.
It is not just WhatsApp that Arattai has to go toe-to-toe with. Telegram is a strong contender. Botim is the ‘gulf’ giant. Signal is the encryption king. And a few state endorsements would not do. Vembu needs to deliver.
