A BBC report last week published with a heading “The Indian messaging app that wants to take on WhatsApp” opened with a cryptic remark, Can an Indian-made messaging app compete with the behemoth that is WhatsApp? This remark relates to an indigenously developed Indian messaging app called Arattai that saw 7.5 million downloads in a week. Developed by an Indian tech company, Zoho, this app was ranked 117th on Google Play Store on 27 September 2025, it jumped to third place by 1 October, and the following day it hit the number one spot, outshining global heavyweights like Google Gemini and ChatGPT, according to Sensor Tower data.
After a soft launch in 2021 in the post-COVID period Arattai app saw this sudden surge after 4 years. A soft launch is the release of a new product or service to a restricted audience or market in advance of a full launch. Prime facie, this surge looks to align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing push to promote “Swadeshi” to bolster self-reliance in technology and adoption of this app by Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, and even the Indian billionaire and industrialist Anand Mahindra. Another reason could be Trump’s tariff blackmail and a pioneer or nationalist sentiment prevailing in the country at present, especially after Operation Sindoor, where homegrown technologies have performed exceptionally well.
Since I downloaded this app last week to have a look and feel of the UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) I offer my initial impressions in this article. To me, the app appears to be decent and friendly and is similar to other popular messaging apps in the market today. I feel the chat feature and a conferencing platform make Arattai a substitute for both WhatsApp and Teams or Zoom. The main problem I see is that of adoption. I noticed that 35+ contacts of mine are now active on Arattai and is slowly gaining momentum, but there is not much of activity after the first “hello” message, indicating a slow adoption or some hesitation to shifting from WhatsApp.
The reasons could vary from some doubts about a new technology that is generally prone to suffer from initial hiccups or some bugs that need to be fixed, networking or simply inconvenience. Let me explain a few. At present, most of us are connected through groups using WhatsApp. So, if all of us decide to shift to Arattai, then it is ok. But suppose only a few or even half of us decide to shift, then keeping two apps open will lead to a lot of confusion while managing messages, which is not desirable. 90% of our messages in groups or even individuals are generally forwards of text or pictures, and it would not be convenient to do copy-paste every time instead of simply forwarding.
One solution to overcome this problem could be interoperability between WhatsApp and Arattai, like in emails that work across platforms. We routinely send emails from our Gmail account to any of the Microsoft or Rediff mail or Zoho accounts and vice versa. Similarly, if this can be done for sending messages from WhatsApp to Arattai and vice versa, it would be a win-win for both apps. But it is easier said than done because why would WhatsApp concede its monopoly? This requires the government’s forceful intervention to make WhatsApp fall in line, if Arattai has to succeed.
Also, Arattai needs to learn from the WhatsApp route to success. It became a hit after leveraging the already existing user base of the world’s largest social network, like Facebook, together with Instagram. The more users, the more relevant and useful an app becomes with economic viability. Similarly, Arattai should leverage the existing business user base of Zoho, its parent company, and make it irresistible to users to transact using its platform. Perhaps integrate invoicing, payments, and accounting into Arattai to make it the standard for business communications in India. Also, integrate GST filings and tax payments into the app as well; there is no way the business crowd would ignore this. Further, multiple Indian languages can be integrated with a reliable auto-translate feature in the app to make intra-state communications easier.
The recent blackmail of the Trump administration on tariffs and H1-B issues has hastened the need to reduce India’s dependency on Western technology and reiterated our resolve to carve our own path. Today, we depend a lot on American-owned social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. WhatsApp has captured India’s biggest market share and has become a way of life in the country, with people using it for everything from sending bulk good morning wishes to running their businesses. This dependency makes us vulnerable. Then there are serious privacy concerns and data issues. In 2021, when WhatsApp updated its privacy policy, we had no other option except to comply.
So, before it is too late, let us have our own social media tools. Earlier, we had the Indian Hike messaging app with many cool features like offline messaging, Natasha bot, etc. In fact, Hike was the app that pioneered the concept of Stickers that is now available in WhatsApp and other messaging apps. But unfortunately, it was shut down in 2021 due to its inability to compete with global platforms like WhatsApp, changing market dynamics, and a lack of a sustainable business model as key factors. We also had the Koo app hailed as Indian Twitter, which even expanded internationally, notably into Nigeria and Brazil. But again, it was shut down in 2024 after struggling to secure funding and finding a buyer.
If Russia can have Telegram and China has WeChat, India too can make Arattai a success story. What it needs is the strong backing of the government and also the will and pride of the people to use our home-grown apps alongside others, since we are a democracy, unlike China, where no outside apps are allowed. Let us prove to the world that Arattai is not a storm in a teacup. Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Jai Hind.
