The Truecaller app has long been able to flag some incoming spam and scam phone calls, enabling you to reject them, but Apple privacy rules prevented the iOS version from working as effectively as the Android one. This means the iPhone would fail to identify many callers that would be flagged on Android phones.
A new Apple API in iOS 18.2 solves the privacy problem, and additionally now allows Truecaller to automatically block known spammers …
The problem with the Truecaller app on iPhone
On Android, Truecaller would check the phone number displayed by caller ID and send it to a database of known junk callers. If identified, it would add a spam or scam warning to the incoming call screen. It also had the ability to completely block known junk callers so that you wouldn’t even see the call.
Apple’s privacy rules didn’t allow the app to work in the same way on iPhone, because the phone number of an incoming call was considered personal data, so Truecaller couldn’t send it to its servers. Instead, the iOS version periodically downloaded offline databases, and the app checked numbers against that – which is less comprehensive.
iOS 18.2 solves this problem
To solve the problem in a privacy-respecting way, Apple has added a Live Caller ID Lookup API to iOS 18.2. This encrypts the phone number on your phone, sends that encrypted data to Truecaller’s server, and gets back an encrypted response. That response is then decrypted on your iPhone.
The framework is specifically intended for apps like Truecaller, and means that the latest version of the iOS app can now check the live database.
This API uses state-of-the-art homomorphic encryption and Truecaller is the first in the world to deploy this at scale for Caller ID […] This update can leverage Truecaller’s latest AI capabilities and global database to identify as many calls as possible. It can ensure that no call goes unidentified on iOS as long as Truecaller has any information about it.
In addition, the latest update includes something that Truecaller iOS users have been requesting for a long time: automatic blocking of spam calls. Other improvements include the ability to search for previously identified calls, going as far back as 2,000 previous numbers in the Recents list in the Phone app.
The free version of the app identifies verified businesses, but a paid subscription is needed for full functionality. This costs a fairly steep $9.99/month or $74.99/year, but there’s also now a family plan for $14.99/month or $99/year for up to five people.
The new version is rolling out globally over the next few days.
Here’s how to enable the new functionality:
- Make sure you are on Truecaller for iPhone version 14.0 or later
- Open iPhone Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification
- Here, enable all Truecaller switches and open the Truecaller app again
Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said: “We are excited to bring the full power of Truecaller to iPhone. We see tremendous potential and growth in our iPhone user base and parity with Truecaller’s Android experience has been top of their wish list. This update does that and more while preserving privacy for all calling activity.”
TechCrunch got early access and reports that it currently works with most calls, but does miss some.
Check out the brief promo video below.
Image: Truecaller
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