Zoho’s messaging platform Arattai has started implementing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for all one-on-one chats, enhancing user privacy and control over conversations. This update ensures that personal messages are encrypted directly on users’ devices, allowing only the sender and recipient to view them, similar to offerings from WhatsApp and Signal. Arattai will not have access to the content of these encrypted chats. The security enhancement is now accessible on Android, iOS, and desktop versions of the app. Users need to install the latest update to activate the feature. The company announced on X that once users upgrade to the required versions—v1.33.6 for Android, v1.17.23 for iOS, and v1.0.7 for desktop—their ongoing one-to-one chats will automatically switch to newly generated encrypted sessions.
To facilitate this transition, Arattai will display a shield icon next to the contact’s name in any encrypted conversation, allowing users to quickly verify that their chat is fully protected with E2EE. Notably, Arattai has opted for a unique approach to encryption. Rather than enabling E2EE within existing chat threads, the app generates new encrypted chat windows. Previous unencrypted conversations will be archived and rendered read-only. Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu clarified that users “won’t be able to continue chatting in the previous thread once E2EE is active.” Clicking on an old chat will redirect users to the new secure window. While this guarantees robust encryption for new messages, older chats will remain unencrypted and accessible only in the archived section.
To prevent sudden communication interruptions, Arattai has implemented a three-day grace period for users who have not yet updated their app. If either participant in a chat is on an older version, both can continue messaging in the previous unencrypted chat for up to 72 hours. The company advises utilizing this time to update and encourage contacts to do the same. After this period, the app will enforce an automatic upgrade for all users, making end-to-end encryption a system-wide requirement, as confirmed by Vembu. While individual chats are fully secured starting today, encrypted group messaging is in development and is expected to launch within a few weeks, initially for specific group sizes.
Users are also looking forward to encrypted chat backups, which are currently unavailable. Vembu indicated that support for encrypted backups is expected to be available within the next two weeks, allowing users to securely save their chat histories while maintaining privacy. Arattai has several additional upgrades planned as it undergoes this significant privacy-focused transformation, promising a more secure and user-friendly communication experience in the near future.
