Zoho Corporation’s messaging app Arattai captured headlines with a dramatic surge early this year, driven by a wave of nationalistic momentum favoring homegrown digital products and government endorsements. In just three days, the app’s daily sign-ups skyrocketed from around 3,000 to 3.5 lakh, propelling Arattai to briefly top India’s app store rankings, even overtaking WhatsApp and Telegram in downloads.
Governments and influential leaders including Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hailed Arattai for its secure, spyware-free experience and “Made in India” credentials. The app’s traffic spiked 100x, with millions of Indians enthusiastically adopting the messaging platform on the back of the Ātmanirbhar Bharat narrative.
The Initial Hype and Current Reality
Despite this initial flag-waving success, Arattai’s app store rankings swiftly retreated. By early November 2025, the app had dropped beyond the top 100 in both Google Play Store and Apple App Store—plummeting from #1 to #105 (Google Play) and #123 (App Store) within weeks. Downloads diminished dramatically from 13.8 million in October to under 200,000 by early November, while monthly active users dipped slightly—from 4.35 million to 4.09 million.
This rapid decline reflects the volatile and fiercely competitive messaging landscape dominated by entrenched platforms like WhatsApp, even as Arattai struggles to convert fleeting user interest into sustained engagement.
Read this: Arattai’s Initial Hype Ends as It Slips to 7th Spot on Google Play Store and Active Users Drop
Sridhar Vembu’s Perspective: A Long-Term Vision
Zoho founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu has consistently urged patience and resilience, dismissing the dip as a natural phase in product evolution. He told ANI, “There’s nothing going wrong. The idea that something went wrong is what is wrong… progress in business is never a straight upward trajectory.” Vembu views Arattai not as a short-term quick win but a strategic endeavor with a 5 to 15-year time horizon, focused on building deeper technology, privacy-first features, and an ecosystem of apps around it.
He criticized detractors who interpret short-term ranking fluctuations as failures, calling their concerns “wasting their time.” Instead, Vembu frames Arattai as a long-term bet to offer credible competition against digital monopolies, maintaining his view that “genuine rivalry is the only mechanism that keeps dominant platforms honest” and that India needs homegrown, privacy-respecting alternatives in social and messaging spaces.
Challenges and Future Opportunities
Arattai launched amid heightened privacy concerns around WhatsApp’s policy changes and pervasive Big Tech scrutiny, striking a timely chord with users seeking a trusted, ad-free platform. However, challenges such as network effects, user switching costs, and the need for cross-network adoption remain significant barriers.
The company is actively rolling out improvements including end-to-end encryption updates, backup features, and performance optimizations to improve reliability and user retention. Zoho’s commitment to continuous investment and iterative development aims to position Arattai as a stable, secure, and growing alternative messaging app aligned with India’s digital sovereignty ambitions.
Conclusion
Arattai’s roller-coaster journey reflects the tough realities of competing with global messaging giants. The initial surge demonstrated India’s appetite for desi digital products, while the subsequent rankings dip reveals the enormous challenge of sustaining engagement and scaling network effects. Backed by Sridhar Vembu’s long-term vision and Zoho’s engineering prowess, Arattai continues to evolve as a mission-driven messenger—championing privacy, competition, and Indian innovation in an increasingly digital world.
