Arattai Losing Traction? Zoho's WhatsApp Alternative Slips From Top 100 Apps List

Zoho's Arattai, introduced as an alternative to the messaging app WhatsApp, fell out of the top 100 apps in India list on Google Play and App Store, according to reports.

The app reached the top of the charts in the middle October, after which it fell to the 105 spot on Google Play and the 123 spot on Apple's App Store as of Nov. 4.

Arattai was at an overall number 150 on Google Play and 128 on App Store, according to combined rankings for both apps and games.

Aratrai was launched in 2021, possibly to capitalise on the furore caused by WhatsApp's Privacy Policy, which had users approve the sharing of their personal data with Meta. Serving as an alternative to WhatsApp, Arattai, which is Tamil for "chit chat", had 13.8 million downloads in October.

This was a notable increase in comparison to 2.63 million downloads it witnessed in September. This surge was short-lived as downloads dwindled to 195,519 in November, according to data sourced by MoneyControl.

Monthly active users were also on the decline, with the user count going down to 4.09 million in November compared to 4.35 million in October. It had risen from 1.17 million in September.

This influx of users also came around the same time many Union ministers such as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had endorsed Aratrai along with Zoho's digital products in the previous months.

This was around the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indians to use goods and services made in India.