Truecaller

Caller ID and spam blocking app that identifies unknown numbers by crowdsourcing users' contact books

As of 1 September 2026, Truecaller is free to use. A caller ID, spam blocking and call recording app that identifies unknown callers by matching numbers against a database built from contact lists uploaded by its own user base. Softwr lists it under Utilities. Truecaller is made by True Software Scandinavia AB, available on iOS, Android.

Visit siteVisit Truecaller

Overview

What Truecaller does

Truecaller identifies incoming calls and messages from numbers not in a user's own contacts, flags likely spam and scam numbers, and offers call blocking, call recording (region-dependent) and a paid caller ID for outgoing calls so the caller's business or personal profile shows to the recipient. The mechanism behind identification is crowdsourcing: when a user installs Truecaller and grants contact access, the names and numbers in their phone's address book are uploaded to Truecaller's database, which is how a number never given to Truecaller directly can still show up with a name attached when someone else calls. This is a genuine privacy consideration, not a hypothetical one; a person's name and number can appear in the Truecaller database because a friend, colleague or acquaintance uploaded their contacts, without that person ever installing the app themselves. Truecaller documents an opt-out and unlisting process at truecaller.com/unlisting where a number can be searched and removed from caller ID results, and states it does not upload message or call content, only caller ID data. Buyers are individuals wanting spam call protection, most heavily used in India, several Gulf states, and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia, with lighter adoption in the US and Western Europe partly because of the app's crowdsourced-contact-book model attracting regulatory scrutiny in some markets. Free use is ad-supported; a premium subscription removes ads and adds features like seeing who viewed your profile.

What people use it for

Someone wanting to identify unknown numbers calling from delivery services, banks or scam operations
A user who wants unknown-sender SMS automatically filtered out of the main inbox
A small business wanting its verified name and logo to show when it calls customers
A person who wants to check whether their own number is unexpectedly listed and request removal

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Truecaller.

Its caller ID database is built from other users uploading their contact books, which means a person's name and number can be listed without them ever installing or consenting to Truecaller directly.
Removing a number requires actively finding and using the unlisting tool; it is opt-out, not opt-in, so most people never realise they need to do this.
The free tier is ad-supported, and ads appear on the call screen itself, which some users find intrusive during otherwise mundane phone use.
Call recording availability depends on local law and has been restricted or removed in some regions and OS versions, so it cannot be relied on everywhere.
Regulatory and app-store scrutiny of the contact-upload model has led to restrictions or bans in some countries, so availability and feature set are not consistent globally.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Truecaller

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

Truecallervs
Google Authenticator
Google Authenticator: If your concern is account security rather than caller identification

Pricing

What Truecaller costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Free

Caller ID and spam blocking
Ad-supported
Limited profile privacy controls

Premium

$2.99 /mo

Ad-free
See who viewed your profile
Priority spam list updates

Capabilities

Features

Caller ID
Shows a name for unknown incoming numbers based on the crowdsourced database
Spam blocking
Flags and can auto-block numbers reported as spam, scam or telemarketing by other users
Call recording
Records calls where locally legal, availability varies by region and OS
SMS spam filtering
Filters unknown-sender messages into a separate spam folder on Android
Truecaller for Business
Verified business caller ID showing company name and logo on outgoing calls
Premium profile controls
Paid tier control over who can see your Truecaller profile and history of profile views

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

How does Truecaller know who is calling me from an unsaved number?

It matches the number against a database built largely from other users' uploaded contact lists, plus spam reports from its user base.

Can I remove my number from Truecaller if I never installed it?

Yes, Truecaller provides an unlisting search and removal tool at truecaller.com/unlisting, though you must find and use it yourself.

Does Truecaller read my messages or call content?

Truecaller states it does not access call or message content, only caller ID and spam-reporting metadata.

Keep looking

Where to go from Truecaller

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Truecaller, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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