Truecaller: Phone Call Blocker

Truecaller is a popular smartphone application designed primarily for caller identification and spam call blocking. It relies on a community-based database of millions of users to identify incoming calls from unknown numbers, helping you distinguish between legitimate callers, telemarketers, and scammers.

Core Features
Caller ID: Displays the name of the person calling, even if they aren’t in your contacts. It can also show if the caller is a business or a known spammer.

Spam Blocking: Automatically flags or blocks calls from numbers reported as spam by other users.

Smart Messaging: Filters your SMS into “Personal,” “Important,” and “Spam” categories, blocking fraudulent or marketing texts.

Search/Reverse Lookup: You can type any phone number into the app to find out who it belongs to.

Ghost Call: (Premium feature) Allows you to schedule a “fake” call to help you exit awkward situations politely.

How to Set Up and Use Truecaller
1. Installation and Registration
Download: Install the app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Verify: Open the app and enter your phone number. You will receive an OTP (One-Time Password) or a verification call to confirm your identity.

Permissions: To work effectively, Truecaller will ask for permission to access your Contacts, Call Logs, and SMS.

Note: On Android, you should set Truecaller as your default dialer and spam app to get the best protection.

2. Enabling Call Blocking
Open the app and tap on the Block tab.

Choose your level of protection:

Basic (Free): Blocks the “top spammers” in your region.

Max (Premium): Blocks all numbers identified as spam or fraud automatically.

You can also toggle options to block Hidden Numbers, Foreign Countries, or numbers Not in your Phonebook.

3. Reporting Spam
If you receive a spam call that wasn’t identified, you can help the community by tapping the number in your call history and selecting Report Spam. This updates the global database for everyone.

Privacy and Safety Considerations

Because Truecaller collects contact data to build its database, there are often discussions regarding privacy:

Contact Syncing: When you sign up, Truecaller may ask to upload your contact list to its servers. This is how it knows the names of people who haven’t even signed up for the app.

Unlisting: If you don’t want your number to be searchable, you can manually “Unlist” your number via the Truecaller Unlisting Page.

Privacy Center: Within the app settings, you can go to the Privacy Center to manage what data is shared and who can see your profile.