India now has a new messaging app that could rival WhatsApp, at least for the time being. This app is Arattai, developed by Zoho. Although it first appeared on app stores in 2021, it only recently gained significant attention due to endorsements from the Indian government, social media buzz, and its status as a Made in India app. The result has been a staggering 100-fold increase in user sign-ups and traffic on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, suggesting that Arattai could emerge as a serious competitor to Meta’s WhatsApp.

While both WhatsApp and Arattai allow users to connect with friends and professionals through messaging, media sharing, voice notes, and voice or video calls, Arattai offers additional features that set it apart. The app supports multi-device access, even on Android TVs, allowing users to use a single account on up to five devices at once. It also integrates social media-style features like Stories and broadcast Channels, similar to WhatsApp’s Status and Channels. Another unique addition is the Pocket feature, which provides a personal chat space for storing photos, videos, notes, reminders, and other files, along with a dedicated Meetings tab for scheduling video calls—a functionality that WhatsApp does not currently offer, although WhatsApp does provide a self-chat “You” window for saving media.

Arattai is designed to be lightweight and efficient, performing well even on older smartphones with limited memory and on slower 2G and 3G networks, making it more accessible to users in rural areas and those with budget devices. The app is completely free, ad-free, and promises not to use personal data for targeted advertising, in contrast to Meta’s approach. Users can create both one-to-one chats and group chats, with group sizes generally capped at around 1,000 members, slightly below WhatsApp’s limit of 1,024.

WhatsApp applies end-to-end encryption to all messages, calls, and shared media, ensuring comprehensive privacy. Arattai, on the other hand, currently offers full end-to-end encryption only for voice and video calls, though Zoho has confirmed plans to expand this protection to text messages in the future. The company emphasizes its privacy-first approach, pledging not to sell user data or use it for targeted advertising. The app’s Made in India status, along with data centers located within the country, adds to its appeal for users who prioritize local data management. Arattai is available on both Android and iOS devices and can be downloaded for free from the respective app stores. In addition to mobile devices, it supports desktops running Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as Android TVs, allowing users to sync their accounts across up to five devices.