Zoho fasttracks end-to-end encryption for its WhatsApp rival Arattai

Zoho has accelerated the scheduled rollout of end-to-end encryption for its messaging platform Arattai, cofounder Sridhar Vembu said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Legacy cloud storage in Arattai will be turned off to offer end-to-end encrypted chats, Vembu said. This feature is in testing right now, he added.

Zoho Cliq, the previous iteration of Arattai, used cloud storage “because business users and admins need search, filtering, archiving, integration and other functions,” Vembu said.


“End-to-end encryption keeps that data on the device only (no cloud storage, unless a backup is specified). So it is actually easier on our servers and lowers our cost to serve users. In case of back up, the encrypted device data is backed up but no server level features are provided,” Vembu said.


Arattai’s rising popularity has been punctuated by privacy concerns. Zoho has consistently maintained that it will not compromise users’ data.

To sustain the rising popularity of Arattai, “we must keep the app safe, reliable and add relevant features — from better group management and payments integration to full encryption”, Zoho chief executive Mani Vembu told ET in a recent interview.

The CEO said advertising will never be part of Arattai, and that Zoho “will never sell user data to third parties”.