- Arattai will implement mandatory system-wide end-to-end encryption for chats
- Encryption rollout will start with one-on-one messages, groups to follow later
- The app was redesigned to support new encryption, now tested by 6,000 employees
Zoho's popular messaging app Arattai, which has been gaining notable traction on app stores in recent months, is set to undergo a major security upgrade. Zoho Founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu has announced that the company's homegrown messaging platform will soon roll out mandatory system-wide end-to-end encryption (E2EE).
In a post X on Saturday, Vembu said, “Status on Arattai: we decided to go with option 2, which is mandatory system-wide end-to-end encryption (starting with one-on-one messages and groups will follow later).”
According to the founder, the rollout will begin with one-on-one chats, with group conversations to follow shortly after. This upgrade in Arattai mirrors WhatsApp, which also provides end-to-end encryption by default for all personal and group chats. This ensures that messages remain private and secure across devices.
In his post, Vembu explained that the Arattai engineering team had to redesign portions of the app to support the new encryption model. Earlier this month, Vembu had sought user feedback on the implementation of the upcoming privacy feature. He had asked users to choose one from two options for end-to-end encryption: default or optional.
Status on Arattai: we decided to go with option 2 which is mandatory system wide end to end encryption (starting with one on one messages and groups will follow later).
We had to do some redesign around it and we wanted extensive testing because it is a drastic change. It is…“It is now being tested by about 6,000 people in the company. We identified some issues and have fixed them. We are doing one more round of testing on a new build that has fixed the issues identified,” he said.
He said that if this testing phase goes smoothly, Zoho plans to deploy the new version within a few days.
“If all goes well, we plan to deploy in a few days. It will be a forced upgrade on all because it is a drastic change,” he added.
Vembu also highlighted that users can already download the latest version of the app, which contains the encryption code. However, it will only activate once Zoho enables it system-wide.
“The app is also faster and sleeker now, which you can experience,” the founder concluded his post, thanking users for their patience.
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