Truecaller is among the world’s most generally used caller identification platforms, with greater than 500 million customers. Now it’s getting into a tougher section as progress slows in its largest market and competitors intensifies throughout telecom networks and smartphone platforms.
A lot of Truecaller’s progress has been pushed by India, which accounts for over 350 million customers, or about 70% of its world base. The quantity of spam and undesirable calls has turned the app from a easy caller ID service right into a extra embedded layer of on a regular basis communication.
That place is now shaping its subsequent section. The corporate has launched options reminiscent of AI Assistant and Household Safety to drive monetization, alongside instruments like Neighborhood Strategies to remain related as competitors intensifies. This comes as telecom-led options reminiscent of Calling Identify Presentation (CNAP), devoted quantity collection for verified enterprise calls, and AI-based spam safety acquire traction in India. In the meantime, smartphone makers together with Apple and Google proceed to construct caller identification and spam-blocking capabilities into their working techniques.
As competitors will increase, Truecaller’s progress is beginning to gradual. Information shared with TechCrunch from Sensor Tower exhibits downloads from India fell 16% year-over-year in 2025, whereas world downloads declined 5%, marking a reversal after a number of years of progress. Separate knowledge from Appfigures exhibits downloads peaked at 175 million in 2021, dropped sharply in 2022 and have since hovered round 120 million yearly.
Picture Credit:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch
India stays Truecaller’s largest market, however its share of downloads has declined from over 70% at its peak to the mid-50s in recent times, pointing to a gradual shift in new consumer progress towards different markets.
Truecaller’s shift in progress dynamics is being carefully watched by traders. The corporate’s shares have fallen about 78% since its 2021 IPO and are down round 37% up to now this 12 months, underscoring investor considerations about its progress outlook and enterprise mannequin. Chief Govt Rishit Jhunjhunwala informed TechCrunch that one of many key questions from traders has been across the influence of CNAP in India. He additionally acknowledged current headwinds in elements of the enterprise, with out elaborating additional.
CNAP, an initiative pushed by India’s telecom regulator and is being carried out by telecom operators, shows caller names primarily based on KYC information on the community degree with out requiring third-party apps. This overlaps with a part of Truecaller’s core providing, however is extra restricted in scope.
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Truecaller’s Jhunjhunwala stated the corporate doesn’t see CNAP as a disruption however as validation of the issue.
“Truecaller operates as a world platform with a a lot richer and dynamic intelligence layer — spanning spam detection, fraud prevention, enterprise identification, and consumer context throughout calls and messages,” he stated. “This enables us to go considerably past primary caller ID.”
Truecaller’s Neighborhood Strategies present user-generated context about incoming callersPicture Credit:Truecaller
Bharath Nagaraj, director of fairness analysis at Cantor Fitzgerald, stated CNAP may gradual consumer progress however is unlikely to materially disrupt Truecaller’s core enterprise within the close to time period. As a substitute, he pointed to strain within the firm’s promoting phase — pushed partly by adjustments from Google — because the extra quick problem.
“Should you have a look at the earnings for the corporate, 65%–70% of it now comes from advert income. And that impacted just lately,” Nagaraj informed TechCrunch.
In its final earnings name (PDF), Truecaller stated that it misplaced roughly one-third of advert site visitors from its largest accomplice in August 2025 — a accomplice analysts on the decision recognized as Google. Jhunjhunwala attributed the drop to an unresolved “algorithm problem,” whereas CFO Odd Bolin stated the accomplice nonetheless accounts for greater than a 3rd of whole income. The corporate is now including new companions and constructing its personal advert change to cut back dependence on any single platform.
However even transferring to an in-house advert change could not absolutely tackle the problem. Promoting stays extremely aggressive, with manufacturers capable of spend throughout a number of digital platforms, stated Nagaraj. “You’ll be able to present your adverts on Truecaller, however you can even present them on Fb,” he stated.
In-app income continues to develop
The strain on promoting comes at the same time as different elements of Truecaller’s enterprise are on a unique trajectory. Information from Appfigures exhibits that whereas downloads have plateaued in recent times, gross in-app income has risen sharply — from $600,000 in 2017 to $39.3 million in 2025. It has already reached $13.4 million this 12 months as of April 20.
Month-to-month income generated by in-app purchases on Truecaller is now persistently above $2 million and nonetheless climbing, per Appfigures.
Picture Credit:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch
Truecaller’s presence on iOS has additionally grown from lower than 5% of its whole downloads in 2020–2021 to round 11–12% in recent times, per Appfigures, highlighting a shift towards higher-value markets. The corporate has stepped up efforts on Apple’s platform, together with launching real-time caller ID for iPhone in early 2025 and rolling out characteristic updates to enhance parity with its Android app.
Nonetheless, Apple just lately expanded its call-screening capabilities, which may cut back the necessity for third-party apps amongst iPhone customers.
One other key pillar of Truecaller’s monetization technique is its enterprise providing, Truecaller for Enterprise, which permits corporations to confirm their identities and talk with clients through calls and messaging. The phase has been rising steadily, with income rising 39% in fixed forex in 2025. Truecaller’s Jhunjhunwala stated the corporate is increasing the platform globally by opening its chat companies to companions and providing instruments reminiscent of verified enterprise caller ID to assist enterprises confirm identification and attain clients.
Alongside its enterprise push, Truecaller has additionally been increasing its client subscription enterprise, which has over 4 million paid subscribers globally, as extra customers go for options reminiscent of superior spam safety, AI-based name screening, and an ad-free expertise.
Previously, Truecaller has been criticized over the way it builds and maintains its huge database of telephone identities. An investigation by The Caravan raised questions on consent and knowledge assortment practices, notably in India, the place knowledge safety legal guidelines have up to now been much less stringent. Truecaller has denied wrongdoing and maintains that it complies with relevant rules, however the debate underlines the broader problem of balancing utility, scale, and consumer privateness.
Regardless of all these challenges, Truecaller sees important room for progress. The corporate is targeted on addressing the rising complexity of communication, Jhunjhunwala stated, as spam and rip-off calls grow to be extra refined with advances in AI. Equally, it plans to develop throughout all three income streams — promoting, enterprise companies, and premium subscriptions — because it appears to be like to maintain progress throughout markets. Whether or not that shall be sufficient, nevertheless, could rely upon how shortly it may possibly adapt as caller identification shifts from standalone apps to the community, and to the telephone itself.
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