Indian technology giant Zoho Corporation has officially launched its new messaging and calling app, Arattai, a platform many see as a potential homegrown challenger to WhatsApp.
Zoho insists Arattai is not just another chat application, but a comprehensive digital platform designed to handle everything from private conversations to professional meetings.
Within days of its release, Arattai quickly climbed the charts in the social networking category, signaling strong demand among Indian users for a reliable, secure, and indigenous alternative—especially at a time when foreign apps face repeated scrutiny over data privacy concerns.
Beyond Chatting: A Shift Toward Productivity
While WhatsApp remains focused on voice calls, video calls, and group messaging, Arattai aims to push the boundaries of what a messaging app can do.
Its most innovative feature is an in-built online meeting system, offering:
Direct scheduling of meetings within the app.
The ability to assign co-hosts.
Support for multiple time zones.
This makes Arattai more than a communication tool — positioning it as a remote work and team collaboration platform.
Five Features That Set Arattai Apart
- 1. Integrated Online Meetings
- 2. End-to-End Encryption
- 3. Local Servers and Stronger Data Privacy
- 4. Multi-Device Support
- 5. Family-Friendly and Professional Modes
Why This Launch Matters
India is rapidly becoming the world’s largest internet market, and messaging apps lie at the heart of this digital ecosystem. With over 500 million Indian WhatsApp users, the scale of the opportunity—and the challenge—for Arattai is enormous.
Analysts caution, however, that Arattai’s success will depend on whether it can break entrenched user habits and whether Zoho can deliver on its promises of data security and scalability.
Expert View
Prof. Triveni Singh, cybercrime expert and former IPS officer, stressed the significance of homegrown apps like Arattai:
“What sets platforms like Arattai apart is not just features, but trust. By guaranteeing local data storage and stronger privacy protections, Zoho has positioned itself well in a market where users want more than convenience — they want confidence. If Zoho sustains this trust, Arattai could evolve into more than just a WhatsApp alternative; it could anchor a new digital ecosystem in India.”
