If you haven’t been living under a rock, the name Arattai must have popped up on your social media timeline. Zoho Corporation’s homegrown messaging app has been all the hype these days, with the company CEO Sridhar Vembu actively convincing people to give it a try and ‘trust them’ for security and privacy reasons. While the decision solely depends on personal preferences, we have listed five reasons for giving Arattai a try and one reason to avoid it.
Zoho’s Arattai, which has been around for years, has come to the limelight after a recent update, offering a free and comprehensive messaging platform. Arattai positions itself as an Indian-made alternative to global messaging giants like WhatsApp, encouraging people to try a homegrown solution to the country’s messaging needs.
While data privacy remains a concern owing to the lack of end-to-end encryption for text messaging, Zoho promises that an upcoming update promises to fix the absence of E2E encryption. For now, here are five reasons to give Arattai a try.
1. Meetings: More than basic video calls
Arattai incorporates a dedicated Meetings feature that offers video conferencing capabilities comparable to platforms like Zoom and Google Meet, surpassing the more limited video calling functionality found in WhatsApp. Users can instantly start, join, or schedule future calls directly from the app’s bottom dock.
2. Pocket: A private secure space
The Pocket feature provides a private, end-to-end encrypted space for users to store personal notes, images, videos, and reminders, separate from their message history. This functions similarly to WhatsApp’s “Chat with Yourself” feature but is focused explicitly on secure, personal organisation.
3. A strict no-AI policy
In contrast to tech giants like Meta, which are aggressively integrating generative AI into their messaging apps, Arattai currently contains no AI tools. This deliberate choice keeps the user experience simple and ensures that users are not subjected to automated suggestions or AI-driven interactions.
4. Zero ads
A key reason for privacy-conscious users is Zoho’s promise that it does not display ads. It also promises that user data will not be leveraged for commercial purposes.
5. Mentions
Borrowed from professional communication tools like Slack, the Mentions feature collects all messages where a user has been tagged (@mentioned). This makes it easier to track relevant notifications and pick up conversations without losing context, which is a common frustration on other mainstream apps.
One reason to not use Arattai
The lack of end-to-end encryption for text messaging is one of the major concerns that may put off those obsessed with privacy and security. Although Zoho promises to bring E2E encryption with a future update, the current policy leaves users prone to cyberattacks and snooping.
