Following concerns raised by the central government over WhatsApp’s username feature, Zoho-backed Arattai has decided to remove its username-based account option. The government had paused the rollout of similar features, citing risks of identity theft and cyber fraud. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had directed Meta to halt the feature. Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu announced on X that Arattai would disable the username function to comply with regulatory requirements. Arattai is a privacy-focused messaging service offering end-to-end encrypted text, voice and video calls. It is positioned as a domestic alternative to foreign apps and is among the first to respond publicly to official concerns about username-based messaging.
