Bengaluru, India (AP) -- Zoho Corp's Arattai messaging app reached the top of India's app store rankings on Monday after daily sign-ups increased 100-fold to 350,000 in three days.
The Chennai-based software firm reported the surge on social media platform X, attributing it to user demand for local alternatives to global messaging services. Arattai, which means "chat" in Tamil, topped the social networking category on Apple's App Store and entered the top 100 on Google Play.
Arattai launched in January 2021 as a cross-platform instant messaging service with features including text and voice notes, audio and video calls, media sharing, groups and channels. The app stores user data in India and provides end-to-end encryption for calls, though message encryption remains in development, according to Zoho.
Zoho co-founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu said on X that the company faced a 100-fold traffic increase from 3,000 daily sign-ups and was adding infrastructure on an emergency basis to handle potential further growth. "We have all-hands-on-deck working flat out," Vembu wrote.
Vembu added that Arattai would avoid creating a monopoly like some competitors and plans to collaborate with iSpirt, the think tank behind India's Unified Payments Interface, to standardize messaging protocols for interoperability. "These systems need to be interoperable like UPI and email, and not closed like WhatsApp today. We do not want to be a monopoly ever," he said.
Zoho’s #Arattai app explodes in India! Daily sign-ups jump from 3,000 → 350,000 in 3 days 📈Endorsed by Dharmendra Pradhan & Ashwini Vaishnaw, this Made-in-India messaging app aims to boost digital self-reliance #SwadeshiTech #DigitalIndia #Zoho pic.twitter.com/sqZltw505T
— Value Assignment Help (@vassignmenthelp) September 29, 2025
The app's rise followed endorsements from Indian government officials, including Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who on Sept. 25 called Arattai a "secure, user-friendly, and completely free" platform developed in India. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also highlighted Zoho products during a cabinet briefing last week.
Vembu emphasized the app's Indian development and data hosting in separate X posts, stating that Zoho operates its services on proprietary hardware and open-source software without reliance on global clouds like AWS or Azure for data storage. He described the project as "proudly made in India, made for the world," noting it would not have been feasible under public company pressures.
Zoho plans a major marketing campaign and feature rollout in November, though the surge arrived earlier than expected. The company reported temporary issues including delayed OTPs and slower contact sync due to server load, with fixes underway.