'Tops Apple Play Store rankings, millions of users'; Arattai app fever across India

India’s indigenous messaging application Arattai is making headway, securing the top spot in Apple's app store, even outpacing WhatsApp.

“We’re officially #1 in Social Networking on the App Store!” The milestone caps off a week of rising buzz around the app, fuelled by endorsements, memes, and a wave of patriotic downloads.”, the statement from the Arattai team on the social media platform X.

Arattai, which came in 2021, was a side project of Chennai-based software giant Zoho. However, the project couldn’t find a footing upon its introduction. Five years later, with AI scare and privacy security threats resulting in an exodus of users from messaging application behemoths, the “spyware-free, made-in-India messenger” Arattai saw its moment of reckoning. If the current download rate is a sign, then the application is spreading in its popularity at a phenomenal pace.

Things got easier with a big endorsement from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who suggested users shift to the local digital platform, which is impeccable and smart and can even rival any other messaging apps by a mile.

Zoho’s CEO Sridhar Vembu said that the app is just in its alpha stage while improvements are being made, considering the mammoth level of downloads happening. In some quarters, suggestions are being offered to Vembu and his team to rechristen the app to attract global users.

Meanwhile, the high demand has left the servers lagging a bit in the last hours. However, what makes Arattai different is its no-nonsense approach to user privacy, unlike its rivals.