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Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu has announced that Arattai will discontinue its username-based account feature following the Indian government's decision to halt WhatsApp's planned username rollout. With this move, Arattai has become one of the first messaging platforms to publicly respond to the Centre's new regulatory stance on username-based identities. Sharing an update on X, Sridhar Vembu wrote, "We will discontinue the username-based account feature on Arattai to comply with regulatory changes; thank you."

**Decision regarding Arattai**
Vembu's statement came shortly after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed Meta to halt the rollout of WhatsApp's username feature in India. The government instructed the company not to launch the feature until discussions with officials are concluded and concerns regarding cybersecurity and online fraud are addressed.

Arattai, Zoho's messaging platform, enables users to communicate via chat, voice, and video calls. Although Vembu did not specify a timeline for removing username-based accounts, his post confirms that the company will adhere to the latest regulatory requirements.

**Why did the government halt WhatsApp's username feature?**
WhatsApp had announced a feature allowing users to create unique usernames, enabling them to chat without sharing their mobile numbers. However, the Centre expressed concern that these usernames could be exploited by fraudsters to impersonate banks, government agencies, businesses, and public figures. Officials warned that such misuse could lead to an increase in incidents like phishing attacks, financial fraud, and "digital arrests."

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