Arattai: What makes Arattai give WhatsApp a run for its money?

Only a few months ago, it was unheard of that an Indian app could compete with WhatsApp. However, Arattai, the instant messaging system of Zoho, has shot far ahead, acquiring enormous popularity even prior to a proper marketing campaign. Arattai is transforming the messaging in India with its user-friendly capabilities and increasingly rising popularity. The fact that Arattai has become useful as an alternative to WhatsApp within a short period of time is a strong indication that the Indian digital communication environment is taking a new direction, due to technology, as well as increased anxiety about data security. Through its focus on data sovereignty and its exclusive location of user data on Indian servers, Arattai is cashing in on growing popular and governmental concerns around responsible and safe data usage. According to Prabhu Ram, VP at CyberMedia Research "Zoho’s homegrown messaging app embraces data sovereignty and end-to-end encryption, marking a paradigm shift in India’s messaging ecosystem.”

The combination of such sophisticated features as a specific Meetings tab, Slack-like Mentions, and other features makes the app useful both to regular users and professionals who work in a hybrid workplace. Moreover, its user-friendly, ad-free design allows it to be accessible to a larger segment of the population, such as users with a low-end smartphone or limited network speed, which is extremely important in the diversified and price-conscious Indian market. This combination of strategic differentiators supported by the powerful technological ecosystem at Zoho puts Arattai in a good place to grow its market share relative to established competitors such as WhatsApp. Arattai is not just disrupting the dominance of WhatsApp, but also promoting the Indian push towards digital self-sufficiency and data sovereignty. These are five reasons why Arattai is becoming a powerful WhatsApp alternative.

No Ads and full data privacy

Arattai is free of ads, unlike most of the contemporary apps, which are full of advertisements. More importantly, it keeps all the user data in India, stored safely on Zoho servers- no data sharing with third-party or use of data in advertisements. This is in line with the objectives of India in terms of digital sovereignty and it gives the user more confidence.

Advanced meeting features

Going beyond basic chat, Arattai adds a specific Meetings tab, which competes with Google Meet and Zoom, allowing users to initiate an instant video meeting, join an existing meeting, or create a meeting in the future, all prominently visible on the app. WhatsApp does not yet offer the same, which is an advantage since it is popular in the workplace and hybrid settings in particular.

Streamlined, minimalistic interface

Arattai is created without distractions of artificial intelligence and superfluous complexity. Its clean interface and easy to use layout is centered on the necessary messaging features, which is why it suits users who are not afraid of being less productive and minimalistic. This is a light-weight design that will work well with low-budget smartphones and low-speed networks.

References to easy conversation tracking

Just like Slack, Mentions feature of Arattai assists users to monitor notifications and discussions effectively, especially when communicating in a group. This feature is lacking in WhatsApp, which makes Arattai more attractive in terms of planned communication.

Your personal organised space

The Pocket option offers a personal wall, where users can store photos, videos, notes and reminders and it is more organized and reachable than WhatsApp chat with oneself option. This functionality seeks to fulfill an actual individual content management requirement in the app.

Sridhar Vembu, CEO & Co-Founder of Zoho, Arattai says “Our team has been working for over 5 years without immediate returns, driven by a focus on long-term value rather than short-term hype.” India-first strategy, promise of data privacy and practical benefits over WhatsApp are several factors that are making it a favorite among many, including those living in areas with low-end devices and subpar internet connectivity. Arattai, as it expands, is not only a messaging application but an important stage towards becoming digital independent.