Arattai To Get Major Security Upgrade, Confirms Zoho's Sridhar Vembu: What Should You Expect?
Zoho’s Arattai messaging app will roll out system-wide end-to-end encryption tonight, with a brief transition period for users on older versions.
Zoho’s homegrown messaging app, Arattai, is set to receive a major security upgrade tonight (Nov. 18), with the introduction of the system-wide end-to-end encryption (E2EE), Zoho Founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu has confirmed.
In a post on X, Vembu urged users to “update the Arattai app from the Play Store/App Store and encourage contacts to do so,” adding that the encryption feature will be enabled Tuesday night, IST.
Vembu explained that the rollout will involve a transition phase. “If you are on the latest Arattai version and your contact is on the latest version, you will only be able to use end-to-end encrypted chat with that contact,” he said. In such cases, a new encrypted chat session will be created, while the old non-encrypted session will be archived. Users will be redirected automatically to the new encrypted chat screen.
For contacts still on older versions of Arattai, Vembu said that the old chat session could continue for three days, after which all users will be upgraded to the latest app and encryption will become mandatory across the platform.
“Once they upgrade, they will go to case 1 above. In 3 days, we will upgrade everyone to the latest app, and at that point, end-to-end encryption will become a system-wide mandate,” he added.
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Group chats, however, are not yet encrypted. Vembu said that E2EE for group conversations will roll out in the coming weeks for groups of certain sizes. Additionally, he said that end-to-end encrypted chats will get a backup option in about two weeks, ensuring users can securely store their messages without losing data.
Vembu also hinted at more upcoming features, stating, “We have many more cool features in the works once we get through this big transition.”
On Saturday, Nov. 15, Vembu had announced the roll-out of the mandatory system-wide E2EE for Arattai but had not specified a timeline, only mentioning that it would be deployed “in a few days.” With today’s update, users can now expect the feature to go live tonight.
This upgrade brings Arattai in line with messaging apps like WhatsApp, which already provides end-to-end encryption by default for all personal and group chats, ensuring that messages remain private and secure across devices.
