You’re looking for a way to identify your callers, so you download Truecaller and install it on your phone. Is this mobile app worth the effort?
We’ll find out soon!
For a better comprehension, we have further divided this topic into four (4) additional sub-topics due to how wide it will look like.
Table of Contents
What is Truecaller?
Truecaller is a Swedish company that was founded in Stockholm in 2009. Its mobile app is available for both Android and iOS devices, and it has approximately 330 million active monthly users and 1 billion installs worldwide. The app is known to automatically filter and block irrelevant messages and phone calls to prevent spam. It even stops malicious messages from reaching your device.
The app offers both free and premium membership. The free membership includes advertisements, whereas the paid membership does not. As a premium user, you will benefit from more advanced spam blocking, receive more contact requests, and see who has viewed your profile.
Users will only need to provide their phone number to begin using the service. The app will then use the contacts app to populate its phonebook and improve its spam database.
Read this article: Are you still barred from making calls? How to fix it!
How the app identify caller IDs
Truecaller app will use data from your contacts list to identify incoming calls and texts if you grant the necessary permissions.
Before we go any further, here are a couple of ideas from the Truecaller website that best describe how caller IDs are identified.
According to the website, there are two factors used to identify your callers. they are as follows:
- Phone directory
- Community sourcing
The method of community sourcing is primarily used to identify spam callers.
Phone directory
The name assigned to a phone number is based on information obtained from sources such as user profiles and crowdsourcing of user contact lists.
Truecaller put it like this:
“The phonebook data gets integrated with the app for a seamless calling and messaging experience. The name connected to the number (if not suggested by users already) is done based on sources like user profiles and crowdsourcing of names.”
To be more specific,
When you install the app on your phone, you must sign up with your phone number. The following page will ask you to sign up using your Facebook account or manually enter your information, including your first and last name. This is your profile; you may upload an image of yourself if you wish.
The app will then ask for permission to access your phonebook and to draw over other apps on your phone. This is not the only permission requested, but it is the most important.
Your profile name will be used as your caller ID. As a result, if you call someone, the name on your profile will be displayed to any other user (if not already saved).
Remember that Truecaller app can access your phonebook and display caller identity based on the names in your contact list as well.
Read this article: 6 Network problems you can fix without customer care help request.
How spam Calls are detected
Truecaller identifies spam callers via suggestions from its community. This is called community sourcing. E.g If a large number of users report a specific number as spam, say, “insurance spam” or another type of spam call, the caller ID will display that information if you receive a call from that number.
Truecaller puts it this way:
“We also determine the contact name through what the Truecaller community suggests through our app or website. For example: If an insurance spam number is saved or reported as ‘Insurance spam’ by the maximum number of our users, then that is what the caller ID will show to the receiver of the call from that particular number.”
Read this article: Which airtel tariff plan is the best for calls?
Is this app worth the installation?
There have been allegations placed on Truecaller for publicly exposing user data. But the company has defended itself and stated that data protection is at its priority.
“In the interest of data minimization, we do not request unnecessary permissions or data from our users.” Truecaller stated.
The app detects spam calls and spam messages while also identifying callers. However, on the other hand, occasionally displays fake caller identities.
How? Read the statement below:
“users who register on our app can choose how they want to appear on the Caller ID by filling in their names. This is exactly why we keep encouraging our community to fill their Truecaller profile with the correct information in the app to avoid getting false contact names against their numbers.” Truecaller states.
Truecaller does not directly integrates into the database of telecommunication companies. But rather depends on data gathered from its community and user phone directory.
Truecaller vs. Recycled line
We’re all aware that lines are often recycled.
As a result, when you register and activate a new sim card (recycled line), you will see a new name instead of yours associated with your phone number in the Truecaller app. This is due to the fact that a user must have previously used that number to register a profile or maybe the name was suggested through the crowdsourcing of names.
Simply install the Truecaller app on your phone and create a new profile with your newly registered line. This will override any existing user information in its database. Also ask your friends to “suggest a better name” for your phone number from the app and your name will appear on the next call.
Read this article: Pre-registered sims, protect your NIN from multiple sim activation.
Don’t stop using Truecaller!
We are not discouraging anyone from using the Truecaller application in any way. Instead, we are simply providing everyone with the information they need to know before installing the application.
Reference
clark.com: 5 things to know before installing Truecaller.
truecaller.com: How truecaller’s caller ID works.
