Over the past few weeks, Arattai, a homegrown messaging app developed by Indian tech giant Zoho, has rapidly climbed the charts, becoming a viral sensation. The company claims it recorded seven million downloads in just seven days, a staggering rise from under 10,000 downloads in August, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
The name Arattai means “banter” in Tamil, and though the app had a quiet launch back in 2021, it has recently exploded in popularity — largely fuelled by the Indian government’s push for self-reliance under the “Make in India” and “Spend in India” initiatives.
Federal Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was among the first to endorse Arattai on X, urging users to switch to Indian-made apps. Soon after, other ministers and business leaders followed, giving Zoho’s app an unprecedented boost in visibility.
“In just three days, we saw daily sign-ups increase from 3,000 to 350,000 — a 100x jump,” said Zoho CEO Mani Vembu, adding that users were “enthusiastic about a homegrown product that meets India’s unique needs.”
While Zoho has not disclosed its total active user base, the surge signals growing consumer appetite for indigenous tech alternatives — particularly those that balance usability, security, and national pride.
Capturing the Indian User Base
Arattai mirrors WhatsApp’s key features — text messaging, voice and video calls, and business tools — but its appeal lies in localized design and optimization for low-end devices and slow internet speeds, making it accessible to millions of users across semi-urban and rural India.
More than 95% of Arattai’s active users in September were based in India, Sensor Tower data shows. Many users on social media have praised its clean interface, smooth performance, and the pride of using an Indian-made product.
Today, Amit Shah also used Zoho Mail Id and shared his tweet too asking others to follow the trend. Many ministers are following him now.
Zoho insists it is actively working to roll out full encryption soon. “Once implemented, even we won’t have access to users’ messages,” Vembu said, pledging transparency about government data requests.
With WhatsApp’s 500 million users in India, Arattai’s road ahead is steep. Yet, Zoho’s credibility as a global SaaS powerhouse and its commitment to Indian-built solutions give it a strong foundation to scale.