Zoho has launched Arattai, a free messaging and calling app. Positioned as an Indian alternative to WhatsApp, Arattai works well on low-end smartphones and slower networks. The app offers key features like voice and text messaging, sharing of documents and images, audio and video calls, and group chats supporting up to 1,000 participants. It also includes dedicated channels for organised communication. The name Arattai, meaning "casual conversation" in Tamil, reflects its aim to provide simple and informal chatting. Zoho emphasises strong privacy policies, assuring users that their data will not be shared with third parties. Meanwhile, WhatsApp is a widely popular messaging app supporting text, voice, and video calls, as well as multimedia sharing across devices. It allows group chats with up to 1,024 members and uses end-to-end encryption to secure messages. Owned by Meta, WhatsApp’s focus on privacy has earned it millions of loyal users worldwide. Here are some of the features that differentiate the online messaging service. Platform Compatibility and Performance: Arattai is optimised to run smoothly on low-end smartphones and in areas with slower internet speeds, making it a practical choice for users with limited connectivity or older devices. Its lightweight design ensures minimal data consumption without compromising basic functionalities. WhatsApp, on the other hand, is widely compatible across both Android and iOS platforms and generally requires more resources, which can sometimes affect performance on entry-level devices or in low-bandwidth environments. Messaging and Communication Features: Both applications offer standard messaging capabilities, including text chats, voice notes, and multimedia sharing such as images, videos, and documents. WhatsApp supports voice and video calls with end-to-end encryption, group chats with up to 1,024 members, and features like disappearing messages and status updates that allow temporary sharing of photos and videos. Arattai matches many of these features but extends group chat capacity up to 1,000 participants and introduces dedicated channels for broader communication, a feature designed for larger communities or organisations. Privacy and Security: Privacy remains a key focus for both platforms. WhatsApp is renowned for its end-to-end encryption, ensuring that messages, calls, photos, and videos remain private between the communicating parties. This encryption is automatic and cannot be disabled. Zoho’s Arattai also prioritises privacy by pledging not to share user data with third parties and embedding security measures to protect conversations, although it does not currently specify the use of end-to-end encryption at the same level of detail as WhatsApp.
