Zoho’s Arattai is witnessing a dip in its popularity as the hype around the homegrown messaging app starts to settle down. The messenger app, which is pitched as a strong contender to Meta’s WhatsApp, has slipped down the rankings on the Google Play Store, much lower than its arch-rival. This is surprising considering the promises for more feature-rich updates by Zoho’s CEO Sridhar Vembu.
Zoho’s Arattai has tumbled from the top spot to seventh in Google Play’s top free communication apps category — just weeks after its meteoric surge. The slip has ignited debates over whether “swadeshi” nationalism can sustain innovation in India’s digital battlefield against global giants like WhatsApp, which have annexed the first-mover advantage.
Arattai drops down Google Play Store rankings
Arattai, which means ‘casual chat’ in Tamil, was quietly launched by Chennai-based Zoho Corporation in January 2021 as a simple, secure alternative to foreign-dominated messaging platforms. It promised end-to-end encryption, voice notes, video calls, and file sharing without the data privacy concerns that plagued WhatsApp’s controversial 2021 policy update. However, it was in early October 2025 that Arattai exploded into the spotlight amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s calls for self-reliance during the US-India trade tensions. The app scaled up the ranks to the number one spot on both Google Play and Apple’s App Store in India.
At the time, Arattai’s daily sign-ups surged from 3,000 to over 350,000, overtaking even ChatGPT in downloads and earning cheers as a “Made in India” triumph.
However, Arattai’s popularity started to dip as soon as the new user base demanded the end-to-end encryption feature for text messaging. Arattai already implemented encryption for voice and video calls, but text messages were spared from the luxury. The CEO’s controversial commentary on compliance with local laws and regulations regarding giving the authorities access to chat data raised more concerns, even after Zoho promised the encryption update within weeks.
As a result of the controversy and confusion, Arattai’s ranking has dropped dramatically. Snapchat leads in the first rank, followed by Truecaller on second, and WhatsApp Messenger on third. WhatsApp Business settles at fourth, followed by Telegram on fifth, Facebook Messenger at sixth, and Arattai at seventh.
Internet reacts to low Arattai ranking
Soon after, the internet starts reacting to the drop in the Google Play Store rankings. One member, whose post went viral, stated, “#Arattai has already slipped to #7 on Playstore in less than a few weeks. You can’t protect a tech product by fake nationalism. They can only be protected by unique offerings which are a bi product of massive R&D.”
Here are some other reactions from users on Arattai’s lower rankings.
