Truecaller is a Swedish smartphone application developed by True Software Scandinavia AB, a Swedish company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. It provides a number of services, including caller ID, spam call blocking, call recording, flash messaging with spam filtering and payment services in select markets. Premium features of the app include ad-free experience, advanced spam blocking and priority support.
Truecaller uses a crowd-sourced database where the users voluntarily share contacts. However, users have the option to remove their numbers from the app’s database. Truecaller claims to work in compliance with local data protection laws of a country. It has over 400 million active users worldwide. The application can be downloaded for free and is available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Legal Status in India
Truecaller is not banned in India and is available for download on both Play Store and App Store in the country. In fact, India is the largest market for Truecaller, with over 250 million active users in the country. Moreover, 75% of Truecaller’s revenues come from India. The app is also providing peer-to-peer transaction services in India through the country’s UPI system.
However, Truecaller has been banned by the Indian Army. In July 2020, the Indian Army ordered its personnel to uninstall and delete 89 apps. Truecaller was among the 89 apps banned by the Army. The deadline to remove the apps was 15th July 2020. According to the Indian Army, the decision to ban 89 apps was taken in view of the exponential increase in the number of military personnel being targeted online by the intelligence agencies of Pakistan and China.
Truecaller expressed regret over the ban imposed by the Indian Army. In a statement, the Swedish company owning Truecaller called the ban “disappointing and saddening”, while asserting that the data stored by Truecaller is safe. The company also committed to carry out an investigation into the matter.
Court Cases
In August 2022, a petition was filed against Truecaller in the Supreme Court of India. The petition prayed for a ban on Truecaller. It was alleged in the petition that Truecaller collects and stores personal information of the people without the consent of the concerned persons. Moreover, the app displays names of even those persons who have not installed it. The two-judge bench of the Supreme Court refused to intervene and the plea was withdrawn.
Another petition seeking a ban on Truecaller was filed in the Delhi High Court in February 2024. The petition alleged privacy violations of the users and damage to the reputation of callers classified as spam by the app. The court rejected the plea on the grounds that Truecaller is a facility like published phone directories of yore.
