Zoho’s ‘swadeshi’ messaging app, Arattai, has seen its initial surge fizzle out, crashing from the top spot to outside the top 100 on Google Play and Apple’s App Store in India within a month of topping the charts. As of November 4, the app, positioned as a rival to Meta-owned WhatsApp, ranked 110 on Google Play and 123 on the App Store, in the free category.
The app, launched in 2021, had gained massive traction last month following endorsements from several central ministers.
Zoho has pitched Arattai on a privacy-first plank with local data storage. Unlike WhatsApp, its text messages are currently not end-to-end encrypted.
However, founder Sridhar Vembu has expressed commitment to introducing end-to-end encryption. The app’s rapid decline highlights the challenge of overcoming WhatsApp’s massive network effects in India, where previous competitors like Hike also failed to build a sustainable user base.