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The indigenous messaging app Arattai Messenger has witnessed phenomenal success, quickly gaining traction among users. Within a mere three days, the app experienced a staggering 100-fold increase in user traffic. Daily sign-ups surged from 3,000 to an impressive 350,000. Developed by Zoho, Arattai has swiftly ascended to the top position on the app store, positioning itself as a viable alternative to WhatsApp. Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu announced the surge in traffic on X, formerly known as Twitter. Vembu stated that the company is rapidly expanding its infrastructure to accommodate a potential 100x peak surge in the future, highlighting the impact of exponential growth. The team is also actively refining and updating the code to promptly address any emerging issues. The company had initially planned a major release in November with new features, enhanced capabilities, and a significant marketing campaign. However, the unexpected surge in popularity has accelerated these plans. Arattai is a messaging app designed to compete with WhatsApp. The name ‘Arattai’ means ‘casual chat’ in the Tamil language. Launched in 2021 by Zoho Corporation as a small project, the app has now entered the mainstream. It offers various features such as chatting, voice notes, image and video sharing, group chats, and broadcast channels. A key advantage of Arattai is that it is a spyware-free, Made-in-India messaging app. The app provides basic features similar to WhatsApp, including text, media and file sharing, audio and video calling with encryption, multi-device support, and Android TV integration. Notably, Zoho has clarified that it will not monetize user data, a privacy-first approach that is attracting users. The app’s popularity soared following an appeal by the Union Education Minister for the adoption of indigenous digital solutions. Consequently, Arattai gained rapid attention on social media, with users labeling it a ‘WhatsApp Killer’. The rapid increase in users has put a strain on Arattai’s server capacity, resulting in some users reporting issues like OTP delays and call failures. The company plans to stabilize the servers and is accelerating its operations, even though the planned major update was slated for November.
