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Data giant from India: How does Truecaller survive and grow in the competition?
Truecaller is a smartphone application that provides caller identification, call blocking, alerts, call recording and chat features. It was founded in Sweden in 2009, and although its main office is in Stockholm, the majority of Truecaller’s employees are in India, reflecting the company’s deep roots in the local market.
From Creation to Expansion
Truecaller's founders Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam launched the app in 2009. Initially it ran on Symbian and Windows Mobile, with other platforms soon to follow. In September 2012 alone, Truecaller reached 5 million users, performing over 120 million phone number lookups per month. By 2017, Truecaller had grown to 250 million users.
"In February 2020, Truecaller's monthly active users reached 200 million, of which 150 million were from India."
The app's internationalization efforts have received support from multiple venture capital rounds, including a $1.3 million investment reported by TechCrunch in 2012. The funds will be used to expand its presence in key markets such as North America, Asia and the Middle East. As user demand increased, Truecaller launched the TrueMessenger text messaging app designed specifically for the Indian market in 2015 to increase its user base in India.
Competition and Challenges
However, Truecaller's operating model, which generates 75% of its revenue in India, also faces many challenges. India's telecom regulator TRAI plans to launch a caller identification service based on CNAP (Caller Name Presentation), which will no longer require any application support. This could significantly impact Truecaller's usage in India.
“Analysts predict that if CNAP is fully implemented, it will have a significant impact on Truecaller.”
With India’s upcoming data privacy bill coming into effect in 2024, Truecaller will be restricted from collecting and using data without user consent, further adding to future challenges.
Security and Privacy Considerations
Truecaller has suffered several security incidents in its history. Its servers were hacked in 2013, and although the company stated that no sensitive data was leaked, users' concerns about security still exist. In addition, Truecaller's service model requires uploading users' address books to its servers, which may conflict with GDPR and privacy regulations in other regions.
“Truecaller tracks calls made by non-users, and while this is not illegal, it makes many non-users feel uneasy about the passive collection of information.”
With multiple data breaches reported in 2020 and 2021, the trust crisis facing Truecaller has become increasingly serious. Recent investigations have revealed that the platform’s database has been leaked again, involving a large amount of personal information of users and non-users, which has dealt a heavy blow to Truecaller’s brand image.
Future Outlook
Despite the challenges from competitors and regulations, Truecaller's CEO remains confident about the company's future development. By strengthening product innovation and improving user experience in key markets, Truecaller plans to demonstrate its market potential in its upcoming IPO.
"We believe that transparency and integrity are the cornerstones of winning user trust, and we will continue to work in this direction."
Truecaller's road to success depends not only on technological innovation, but also on facing market changes and regulatory challenges. As competition in the Indian market becomes increasingly fierce, other players are also actively expanding their customer base. So, can Truecaller maintain its leading position in this competition and continue to win the trust and support of users?
