Sridhar Vembu wants your feedback on how end-to-end encryption should work on Arattai app

Arattai app

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu is crowdsourcing opinions on a crucial design choice for Arattai, the Indian-made messaging app that aims to rival WhatsApp and Signal. In a post on X, Vembu revealed that Arattai is experimenting with two approaches to implementing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) across personal chats — and the decision could define how the platform balances privacy and convenience.

In the current version of the app, users can manually enable E2EE for any chat or even set it as the default for all one-to-one conversations. Under this model, if either participant has E2EE as their default mode, the chat automatically switches to encrypted mode, even if the other user hasn’t enabled it. This flexible setup allows users to choose between local encrypted storage or cloud-based chat backups depending on their needs.

However, Vembu said the company is also considering a system-wide default, where all personal chats on Arattai would be E2EE by design, with no cloud-storage option. “Group chats in e2ee mode will arrive later,” he added, hinting that group encryption support is on the roadmap.

Interestingly, Vembu admitted that making E2EE the only mode would actually be cheaper for Arattai to maintain. Yet, some users still prefer cloud-based chat history for ease of access and storage flexibility — a factor that could influence the company’s final decision.

With privacy concerns rising globally and governments tightening data regulations, a full E2EE rollout would strengthen Arattai’s pitch as a privacy-first Indian alternative to global messaging giants. The debate now rests on whether flexibility or full encryption wins the day.