Truecaller provides real-time caller ID for iPhone users
The famous caller ID application Truecaller It has long left iPhone users at a disadvantage by not providing real-time caller information — a feature Android users have enjoyed for some time. Today, that’s changing as the company is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its subscribers on iOS.
The company has been able to implement this feature ever since Apple introduced it Direct search for caller ID In iOS 18, it allows third-party caller ID apps to securely make a call to their server to get information about the caller. Notably, this is also the first major release from the Swedish company then Co-founders Alan Mamedi and Nami Zaringlam have stepped down from day-to-day operations In November 2024.
Today, Truecaller has more than 2.6 million paid subscribers, of which only about 750,000 are on iOS. However, 40% of Truecaller’s revenue comes from iOS subscriptions. The company also gets 5x the conversation rate to its premium level on iOS compared to Android, as well as 80% higher iPhone subscriber revenue.
Given the importance of the iPhone to Truecaller’s profits, the company continues to develop its iOS app.
In 2022, Truecaller Relaunched The iOS app focuses on better spam detection, thanks to Apple allowing the app to store a wider range of numbers locally.
“This has improved overall call recognition. But it was not enough because in countries like India, there is huge calling activity, and not all of this will be available in the database,” Nakul Kabra, Truecaller product manager, told TechCrunch in an interview. Offline.”
India presents other challenges for the company as well, including service access, Display the contact name (commonly known as CNAPDesigned to reduce spam. The service, which is currently being rolled out by local telcos, could eventually emerge as a competitor to Truecaller.
Truecaller also updated its iOS app in 2023 with a live caller ID experience, but that involves a step that requires… interaction With Siri and it wasn’t also in real time.
Until the release of iOS 18, Truecaller had to rely on a Locally saved dictionary for limited phone numbers on iOS.
To enable the new feature, Truecaller built a new server architecture and created a separate, encrypted database for iOS, on top of the existing larger database for Android users. The Apple phone app makes encrypted requests to this database and gets encrypted responses that are only decrypted on the client (iPhone) to show real-time caller ID. This process is called “symmetric encryption”, where accounts use encrypted data rather than decrypting it first, while decryption occurs on the client to display caller information if it matches data stored on the server.
Capra told TechCrunch that Truecaller built a way to sync two databases to keep data between them in sync.
“Right now, there may be some delays because these requests are being queued, and the encryption we do is very time-consuming — and very expensive… but it shouldn’t take more than a few hours,” he said. .
TechCrunch tested live caller ID within the Truecaller beta program last week and noted that the feature provided real-time caller information in most cases, though it occasionally missed it.
Truecaller’s premium tier on iOS starts at $9.99 per month per person, or $74.99 per year. The company also offers its Family plan on iOS starting at $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year and the Premium Gold subscription at $249 per year.
Users can enable Live Caller ID feature through iPhone Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification.
On iOS 18, Truecaller has also updated its interface where the caller’s name appears in bold above their number. Now, Truecaller supports photos to appear in caller ID for iOS users.
