Overview

• Daily sign-ups jumped from about 3,000 to nearly 350,000 within three days after high-profile endorsements and social media attention.
• The app has reached the top of India’s app store rankings, with media reports noting millions of new registrations.
• Founder Sridhar Vembu says infrastructure is being upgraded on an emergency basis, with the company acknowledging OTP delays and contact-sync lag during onboarding.
• End-to-end encryption is active for calls, and Zoho says chat encryption will roll out in the next few weeks.
• Analysts note WhatsApp’s current edge with mature E2EE and Meta AI features, and caution that lasting adoption will hinge on retention beyond the politically driven spike.