- Arattai’s Explosive Growth Shows India’s Growing Confidence in Homegrown Digital Innovation
- The Android TV version of the app offers users flexibility that WhatsApp still lacks
- Arattai’s lightweight design makes it perfect for users with limited connectivity
Arattai Messenger quickly became one of the most downloaded apps in the world, crossing the 5 million mark within days of its launch.
Developed in India as part of Zoho’s new messaging platform, the sudden rise of the Insant Messanger app reflects both a surge of local pride and a growing interest in alternatives to established communications platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Messenger.
Arattai has already surpassed popular apps like Telegram, Messenger and Snapchat, each currently holding around 2 million downloads on the global chart as of October 2025.
An ambitious local challenger
However, while Aratti’s download numbers seem impressive, questions remain about its long-term sustainability and approach to privacy.
Arattai, meaning “chat” in Tamil, is designed to provide an inclusive experience to users across all types of devices, especially those with low-end smartphones and unstable internet connections.
According to Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, the aim is to create a lightweight and accessible communication tool even in areas where broadband connectivity is still limited.
The app includes standard messaging features like texting, calling and file sharing, as well as an Android TV version, a feature WhatsApp has yet to introduce.
These capabilities have positioned Arattai as both a general communications tool and a potential enterprise messaging solution for small organizations seeking reliability without heavy data usage.
Part of Arattai’s appeal is its efficiency. The app has been optimized for low bandwidth environments, ensuring messages and calls work even with low connectivity.
This design choice has made it popular in rural and semi-urban markets, where internet quality remains patchy.
By minimizing demand for resources, Zoho has opened up access to digital communication to users who might otherwise be excluded from platforms requiring faster speeds or high-end devices.
This focus on accessibility gives Arattai an advantage in markets where data affordability and device capacity still limit technology adoption.
Despite its progress, Arattai is criticized for its lack of full end-to-end encryption in text chats.
Although the app offers encrypted voice and video calls, it doesn’t yet provide full encrypted messaging for standard conversations.
Instead, Zoho relies on localized data storage and promises that user data will not be shared externally.
Security experts say this fails to meet modern privacy expectations, as server-based encryption still allows potential access to message data by external providers or attackers.
For a platform aiming to compete with WhatsApp, achieving complete end-to-end security is not an option; it’s essential for credibility in a privacy-conscious digital world.
Via Scenario 18 and FE technical bytes
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
