Truecaller will soon start making its caller identification service available over WhatsApp and other messaging apps to help users spot potential spam calls over the internet, the company told Reuters.
The feature, currently in beta phase, will be rolled out globally later in May, Truecaller Chief Executive Alan Mamedi said. Telemarketing and scamming calls have been on the rise in countries like India, where users gets about 17 spam calls per month on average, according to a 2021 report by Truecaller.
India’s telecom regulator in February directed carriers like Jio and Airtel to start blocking telemarketing calls over their networks using artificial intelligence filters. Truecaller has said it is in discussions with telecom operators to implement such a solution.
“Over the last two weeks, we have seen a spike in user reports from India about spam calls over WhatsApp,” Mamedi said, noting that telemarketers switching to internet calling was fairly new to the market.
WhatsApp is the most used messaging platform in India. The company says it uses spam detection technology to spot and take action on accounts engaging in abnormal behavior and lets users block and report problematic accounts.
For Truecaller, India is its biggest market with 250 million users. Source: Reuters
Tag: Truecaller
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Are you getting spam calls over WhatsApp? Truecaller aims to help tackle the menace
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Truecaller adds Group Calling, Smart SMS features
Swedish caller identification app Truecaller announced on Wednesday, June 16, that it is rolling out new features to further augment the user experience, which include Group Voice Calling, Smart SMS and Inbox Cleaner.
All of them are based on user feedback and are designed to cater to the evolving needs of the consumers, Truecaller said.
“With Group Voice Calling, Smart SMS and Inbox Cleaner, I am hopeful that the consumers will be able to operate more effectively given the benefits of staying connected, using messaging service smartly to stay on top of important information,” Rishit Jhunjhunwala, MD India, Truecaller, said in a statement.
Smart SMS offers a host of new features designed to make day-to-day communication more convenient, while Inbox Cleaner lets consumers free up space on their phones by removing unused messages. Inbox Cleaner also helps the user clear out all old and unwanted messages in just a few seconds.
Group Voice Calling allows users to add up to eight participants to a call while retaining high voice clarity.
Truecaller will also help identify spam users in the group if they are added without the user’s knowledge.
Additionally, the feature offers a smooth dial back option from call logs, making it easy to manage the group—including adding or removing participants—when dialing them back.
“We continue to remain focused on the evolving needs of our users and meet those needs with innovative solutions. These features get us closer to our mission to make communication safer and more efficient for everyone,” Jhunjhunwala said. Source: IANS
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Truecaller launches Guardians app
Truecaller is using its learnings from crowdsourcing protection against spam to ensure personal safety with a new standalone app called Guardians. “Truecaller is a product that solves the mistrust in communication. And this could be a good opportunity for us to think about this as a separate product because they are quite different but solving the same problem,” Alan Mamedi, CEO & Co-founder of True Software Scandinavia AB told indianexpress.com.
Mamedi said that with the kind of reach Truecaller has — 200 of its 270 million active users are in India — they know the problem of women’s safety well. “It’s now time to do something about making our cities safer for everyone.”
After a simple onboarding process, the app lets users select their personal Guardians from the contact list and choose when to stop/start sharing location and setup permanent sharing with selected Guardians.
While this will let the guardians know where the user is at any given point of time, in an emergency situation users can tap the emergency button to notify all of them about the location and situation. There is also the option to seek help from designated community guardians, even as Truecaller tries to onboard local law enforcement to the app. Source: The Indian Express