Over the past week, Zoho Corp.’s in-house messaging software Arattai has become incredibly popular, and some people believe it has the potential to compete with Meta-owned WhatsApp in the Indian market.
Despite all of the positive talk, some users who are concerned about their privacy have pointed out that Arattai is lacking a crucial feature that might make it less competitive than WhatsApp and the majority of other messaging apps: default end-to-end encryption (E2EE).
What privacy issue exists between Arattai and WhatsApp?
Arattai is marketed by Zoho as a privacy-first service that stores all user data in India. While normal communications do not yet have this protection, voice and video conversations are end-to-end encrypted. Secure communications is available through the “secret chat” option, though, and complete encryption is reportedly on the horizon.
Arattai offers E2EE for calls and videos, however users on different social media platforms claim that switching to “secret messages” for the function in chats is cumbersome and excludes other one-on-one and group discussions from the privacy protection.
Notably, options with default E2EE protection for call, chat, and video features include market leader WhatsApp and other applications like Telegram and Signal.
“Privacy is super important to us, and end-to-end encryption for chats is something we’re actively working on,” the Arattai official account on X said in response to the social media problem.
Everything you should know about Zoho’s Arattai
- Zoho Corporation, located in Chennai, created this cross-platform instant messaging program.
- You may use and download it for free. With no subscription costs, it provides a straightforward, privacy-focused communication solution that is available to a broad spectrum of users.
- Users may publish stories, form group discussions, exchange documents, movies, and images, send text and voice messages, and make audio and video calls.
- Arattai may be used on a variety of devices, including as desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones, and it permits up to five devices to be connected to a single account. A smooth experience is ensured by the automated syncing of contacts, messages, and settings between devices.
Launched in 2021, Arattai has lately risen to the top of the nation’s app ranks on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, prompting parallels to WhatsApp. However, maintaining that momentum will be far more difficult.
With over 500 million users who rely on it for personal talks, business, and even government functions, WhatsApp is ingrained in Indian culture. It has a strong lead because to its extensive network effects and growing commercial platform.