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Arattai from Zoho in India is ready to take on the might of WhatsApp in the messaging arena but how do these two apps compare in terms of features and safety?
Zoho’s Arattai has become hot in the messaging arena but can it beat WhatsApp?
Zoho’s Arattai messaging app has become the talk of the town after India’s push for local products sidelining WhatsApp to a corner in favour of the made in India app. Zoho is a well known entity in the market and its own messaging app has been around since 2021 but this seems like its very own ‘this is our time’ moment.
The platform has seen its App Store rankings touch the highest, millions are signing up for the app and lauding its feature set and applications.
But the challenger is WhatsApp, the undisputed leader in the segment, and Arattai needs more than just the government push to succeed. We have already highlighted some of the best and concerning traits about the made in India app and now we are doing a more in-depth comparison that is likely to be of interest to many.
Zoho Arattai App vs WhatsApp: What Features You Get
The Arattai app has messages, calling support and some other useful tools that WhatsApp also has. However, the made in India app goes one step further and gives you options like mentions, pockets, and meetings that is akin to Google Meet and Zoom. Arattai has four different tabs: Stories, Meetings, Chats and Calls. WhatsApp on the other hand offers: Chats, Updates, Communities and Calls.
Both the messaging apps are easy to use and the interface has everything nicely laid out so that a lay person can easily navigate through features and even settings. You can link multiple devices to the same account on both these apps but Zoho’s Arattai app also works on the TV (not sure why) which WhatsApp does not support.
Safety Matters
This is probably the one main aspect of the platforms where WhatsApp has the upper hand over Arattai, at least for now. The Meta-owned app offers calls, messages and everything else protected by end-to-end encryption.
This means nobody, not even WhatsApp can read your text or hear your notes/calls. Arattai is currently offering E2E standard for calls and chats are going to get them in the next few weeks. Messages do need the best security settings and Arattai needs to beef up quickly.
The Meta AI Effect
WhatsApp is owned by Meta which gets you direct access to the Meta AI chatbot that is able to generate images, recipes and travel itinerary and more using prompts. You could say that a big factor for people to consider using WhatsApp over Arattai but some might also see the ill effects of having that feature in the first place.
And yes, the AI features are going to be used for ads across other Meta apps, which again raises the privacy issues.
So, going by all these points, you can see that Arattai is a solid alternative to WhatsApp for people who want made in India solutions for messaging and not compromise on most of the features that millions need daily. WhatsApp is the leader in this space but Arattai has enough to make people switch in India.
S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr…Read More
S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr… Read More
Delhi, India, India
October 03, 2025, 07:35 IST
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