Truecaller Faces Mounting Pressures As Its Growth Matures

Truecaller is 1 of nan world’s astir wide utilized caller recognition platforms, pinch more than 500 cardinal users. Now it’s entering a much challenging shape arsenic maturation slows successful its largest marketplace and title intensifies crossed telecom networks and smartphone platforms.

Much of Truecaller’s maturation has been driven by India, which accounts for over 350 cardinal users, aliases astir 70% of its world base. The measurement of spam and unwanted calls has turned nan app from a elemental caller ID work into a much embedded furniture of mundane communication.

That position is now shaping its adjacent phase. The institution has introduced features specified arsenic AI Assistant and Family Protection to drive monetization, alongside devices for illustration Community Suggestions to enactment applicable arsenic title intensifies. This comes arsenic telecom-led solutions specified arsenic Calling Name Presentation (CNAP), dedicated number series for verified business calls, and AI-based spam protection summation traction successful India. Meanwhile, smartphone makers including Apple and Google proceed to build caller recognition and spam-blocking capabilities into their operating systems.

As title increases, Truecaller’s maturation is starting to slow. Data shared pinch TechCrunch from Sensor Tower shows downloads from India fell 16% year-over-year successful 2025, while world downloads declined 5%, marking a reversal aft respective years of growth. Separate information from Appfigures shows downloads peaked astatine 175 cardinal successful 2021, dropped sharply successful 2022 and person since hovered astir 120 cardinal annually.

Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch

India remains Truecaller’s largest market, but its stock of downloads has declined from complete 70% astatine its highest to nan mid-50s successful caller years, pointing to a gradual displacement successful caller personification maturation toward different markets.

Truecaller’s displacement successful maturation dynamics is being intimately watched by investors. The company’s shares person fallen astir 78% since its 2021 IPO and are down astir 37% truthful acold this year, underscoring investor concerns astir its maturation outlook and business model. Chief Executive Rishit Jhunjhunwala told TechCrunch that 1 of nan cardinal questions from investors has been astir nan effect of CNAP successful India. He besides acknowledged caller headwinds successful parts of nan business, without elaborating further.

CNAP, an inaugural pushed by India’s telecom regulator and is being implemented by telecom operators, displays caller names based connected KYC records astatine nan web level without requiring third-party apps. This overlaps pinch portion of Truecaller’s halfway offering, but is much constricted successful scope.

Truecaller’s Jhunjhunwala said nan institution does not spot CNAP arsenic a disruption but arsenic validation of nan problem.

“Truecaller operates arsenic a world level pinch a overmuch richer and move intelligence furniture — spanning spam detection, fraud prevention, business identity, and personification discourse crossed calls and messages,” he said. “This allows america to spell importantly beyond basal caller ID.”

Truecaller’s Community Suggestions show user-generated discourse astir incoming callersImage Credits:Truecaller

Bharath Nagaraj, head of equity investigation astatine Cantor Fitzgerald, said CNAP could slow personification maturation but is improbable to materially disrupt Truecaller’s halfway business successful nan adjacent term. Instead, he pointed to unit successful nan company’s advertizing conception — driven successful portion by changes from Google — arsenic nan much contiguous challenge.

“If you look astatine nan net for nan company, 65%–70% of it now comes from advertisement revenue. And that impacted recently,” Nagaraj told TechCrunch.

In its last net call (PDF), Truecaller said that it mislaid astir one-third of advertisement postulation from its largest partner successful August 2025 — a partner analysts connected nan telephone identified arsenic Google. Jhunjhunwala attributed nan driblet to an unresolved “algorithm issue,” while CFO Odd Bolin said nan partner still accounts for much than a 3rd of full revenue. The institution is now adding caller partners and building its ain advertisement speech to trim dependence connected immoderate azygous platform.

But moreover moving to an in-house advertisement speech whitethorn not afloat reside nan challenge. Advertising remains highly competitive, pinch brands capable to walk crossed aggregate integer platforms, said Nagaraj. “You tin show your ads connected Truecaller, but you tin besides show them connected Facebook,” he said.

In-app gross continues to grow

The unit connected advertizing comes moreover arsenic different parts of Truecaller’s business are connected a different trajectory. Data from Appfigures shows that while downloads person plateaued successful caller years, gross in-app gross has risen sharply — from $600,000 successful 2017 to $39.3 cardinal successful 2025. It has already reached $13.4 cardinal this twelvemonth arsenic of April 20.

Monthly gross generated by in-app purchases connected Truecaller is now consistently supra $2 cardinal and still climbing, per Appfigures.

Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch

Truecaller’s beingness connected iOS has besides grown from little than 5% of its full downloads successful 2020–2021 to astir 11–12% successful caller years, per Appfigures, highlighting a displacement toward higher-value markets. The institution has stepped up efforts connected Apple’s platform, including launching real-time caller ID for iPhone successful early 2025 and rolling retired characteristic updates to amended parity pinch its Android app.

Nonetheless, Apple precocious expanded its call-screening capabilities, which could trim nan request for third-party apps among iPhone users.

Another cardinal pillar of Truecaller’s monetization strategy is its endeavor offering, Truecaller for Business, which enables companies to verify their identities and pass pinch customers via calls and messaging. The conception has been increasing steadily, pinch revenue rising 39% successful changeless currency successful 2025. Truecaller’s Jhunjhunwala said nan institution is expanding nan level globally by opening its chat services to partners and offering devices specified arsenic verified business caller ID to thief enterprises verify personality and scope customers.

Alongside its endeavor push, Truecaller has besides been expanding its user subscription business, which has complete 4 cardinal paid subscribers globally, arsenic much users opt for features specified arsenic precocious spam protection, AI-based telephone screening, and an ad-free experience.

In nan past, Truecaller has been criticized complete really it builds and maintains its immense database of telephone identities. An investigation by The Caravan raised questions astir consent and information postulation practices, peculiarly successful India, wherever information protection laws person truthful acold been little stringent. Truecaller has denied wrongdoing and maintains that it complies pinch applicable regulations, but nan statement underlines nan broader situation of balancing utility, scale, and personification privacy.

Despite each these challenges, Truecaller sees important room for growth. The institution is focused connected addressing nan rising complexity of communication, Jhunjhunwala said, arsenic spam and scam calls go much blase pinch advances successful AI. Similarly, it plans to grow crossed each 3 gross streams — advertising, endeavor services, and premium subscriptions — arsenic it looks to prolong maturation crossed markets. Whether that will beryllium enough, however, whitethorn dangle connected really quickly it tin accommodate arsenic caller recognition shifts from standalone apps to nan network, and to nan telephone itself.