New Delhi: India’s messaging landscape, long dominated by WhatsApp with its half-billion-plus active users, may be on the verge of a shift. Arattai, a homegrown messaging app developed by Zoho Corp, is positioning itself as a strong contender, offering a range of features designed to address the limitations of existing platforms and provide a more seamless communication experience.
One of Arattai’s most talked-about innovations is the Pocket feature. In many messaging apps, users often struggle to save important information, resorting to personal groups or notes to store messages, links, and media. Pocket eliminates this workaround by providing a personal cloud storage space where users can save messages, attach media from external apps, and add notes for future reference. What sets it apart is its cross-device accessibility, ensuring users can retrieve their saved content from anywhere without hassle.
Another distinguishing feature is Arattai’s deliberate avoidance of forced AI integrations. While WhatsApp has introduced Meta AI, which many users found intrusive and distracting, Arattai offers a clean, streamlined experience without compulsory AI tools, keeping user interactions simple and uninterrupted.
Recognizing the need for professional collaboration, Arattai has introduced Meetings, a feature that allows users to create, join, or schedule virtual meetings directly within the app. Unlike WhatsApp, which often requires external platforms like Zoom or Google Meet for formal discussions, Arattai integrates this functionality into its core interface, making work-related conversations and planning more convenient for users.
The app also addresses one of the common frustrations of group chats: missing mentions. Arattai’s Mentions tab, inspired by workplace communication tools like Slack, neatly compiles every instance where a user is tagged or mentioned, ensuring that no important message gets lost in a flood of notifications. This innovation simplifies group interactions and enhances overall communication efficiency.
Perhaps the most compelling selling point for Arattai is its ad-free environment. The app promises that user data will not be leveraged for commercial purposes, in stark contrast to WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, which uses data for targeted advertising. Additionally, all user data is stored securely in Indian data centers, reinforcing privacy assurances. While voice and video calls on Arattai are end-to-end encrypted, text messages are not yet fully encrypted, a limitation compared to WhatsApp’s complete encryption.
With these distinctive features, Arattai is presenting itself not just as an alternative to WhatsApp, but as a messaging platform that prioritizes user privacy, convenience, and professional functionality. Whether it can overtake the incumbent giant remains to be seen, but its innovative approach and focus on user needs make it a noteworthy contender in India’s rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.