Every couple of years, a “Made In India” social media platform or a trendy new app takes centre stage and grabs the limelight. Downloads surge overnight, charts are topped, and headlines proclaim the arrival of a homegrown alternative to global tech giants.

From Moj during the post-Chinese app ban frenzy to Koo in the “Twitter versus India” standoff, and from Jio trying its hand at building a Zoom clone with JioMeet to Zoho-backed Arattai this week, multiple apps have ridden this digital ‘swadeshi’ sentiment.

Yet once the early fervour dies, the true test comes in the form of user retention, product quality, network effects and trust. This is where many of these apps struggle to retain users, slowly slipping out of conversations and phones alike.

From around 3,000 users, Arattai’s downloads are said to have surged to over 3.5 Lakh in just three days, topping app store charts and even surpassing WhatsApp in some specific categories — and as we will see that is not very surprising.

In a gist, the instant messaging (IM) app has features such as end-to-end encryption, group calls, and support for over 20 languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and Arabic.

While the traction has undoubtedly got many talking about the app, will Arattai actually become a credible alternative to WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal? Does India finally have an answer to the global giants?

Lasting Beyond The Hype

Arattai is far from the first Indian IM app looking to carve a niche in the market. Airtel-backed Hike started well before the modern smartphone era, and after multiple pivots, it had to eventually shut down.

“The hype and........

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