Zoho’s messaging app Arattai has seen daily sign-ups surge from 3,000 to 350,000 in just three days, driven by government endorsements, social media buzz, and its positioning as a secure, privacy-first messaging app designed as an alternative to global rivals such as WhatsApp.
“We have faced a 100x increase in Arattai traffic in three days, with new sign-ups shooting up from 3K/day to 350K/day. We are adding infrastructure on an emergency basis for another potential 100x peak surge. That’s how exponentials work,” Sridhar Vembu, founder and chief scientist of Zoho, said on X.
Arattai release in November
Vembu added that Zoho had planned a major Arattai release in November, including new features, significant capacity upgrades, and a marketing push—but the demand suddenly went vertical. “We have a lot more planned for Arattai, please give us some time,” he said.
Zoho launched Arattai in January 2021 under a beta “friends-and-family trial” phase. The launch then was coincided with heightened scrutiny of WhatsApp’s privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook. Despite this, Arattai struggled to gain traction as a homegrown alternative all these years.
The app returned to the spotlight last week after Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged citizens to adopt to the homegrown messaging app, calling it free and easy to use. The endorsement triggered a massive download surge, propelling Arattai to No. 1 on both iOS and Android app stores.
Social media chatter
Including requests to rename the app, as “Arattai” means casual chat in Tamil—further amplified its visibility. The sudden surge in downloads also led to user complaints over OTP delays, slower contact sync, or call disruptions due to the unexpected server load. “We are adding infrastructure, fine-tuning the code, and updating features as issues arise. It’s all hands on deck,” Vembu said.
Last week, Vembu also noted that Zoho had taken time to launch Arattai to ensure the app works on low-end phones, performs well on low-bandwidth networks, and offers strong privacy and security.
