Whether you're on Android or iOS, Truecaller is an app you need to have on your phone. Its many features make it the one of the best contacts and dialer apps around. In fact, it's so filled with features that you might not be using some of the best ones.
In this article, we'll check out some of the coolest Truecaller features that you can use to make the most of the app.
What Is Truecaller?
Basically, Truecaller is an app that identifies who is calling you. Such caller identification is useful to thwart telemarketers, spam calls, and fraudsters.
Truecaller uses contact information sourced from network providers, and data from other users to categorize callers into Spam or Safe callers. The color of the incoming caller's contact tells you whether it's spam or not. A blue contact card usually means it's safe, while a red contact card means you shouldn't pick up.
Truecaller figures out who's calling by using phone books of users and user input. This is a privacy issue, which we'll discuss later. But for the base purpose of identifying callers you don't have in your contact list, Truecaller is the best.
The app has gone beyond that, however, and added several features that make it even better.
Download: Truecaller for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
1. Record Phone Calls
Truecaller allows all Android users to record incoming and outgoing calls, and it is the smoothest call recording app I've used. If Truecaller is your default contacts app, it will feel seamless.
You can choose to record select calls manually, or record all of them automatically. Don't worry about the space needed; Truecaller will upload these recordings to your Google Drive account during the regular backup.
If you're recording manually, it's as simple as flipping a switch before or during your call. Truecaller is one of the few apps that gives you the option to record either before you pick up or while you're already on the call. This can help circumvent some of the legal questions about recording calls.
Truecaller's call recording is currently available only on Android. The free version has a 14-day trial, but you will need to upgrade to the paid version for unlimited access. You'll have to install an additional app to record calls on iPhones.
2. Back Up Your Contacts and Call Lists
We've said it many times: you need to set up automatic backups on your phone. In case it's lost, stolen, or broken, you won't lose your data. Truecaller now has its own backup feature to store everything about your contact book.
The app backs up contacts, call history, call logs, block list, and settings preferences. All of this is stored on your Google Drive account.
To restore it, install Truecaller on a new phone, go to Menu > Settings > Backup and sign in with your Google Drive account. You'll be prompted to restore your file, and Truecaller will retrieve all your details.
3. Integrate With Other Apps
Truecaller isn't about making you use only Truecaller features. It also acts as a gateway to other apps. Truecaller integrates with your device's Phone and Messages apps, so you can use both of them in Truecaller without having to close it.
For example, if you want to send a text to a Contact from Truecaller, simply tap the Messages icon and Truecaller will pull up a conversation box from your Messages app.
The same thing applies when you try to call a number from Truecaller. The app will open your device's Phone app and call the number from there, unless you have chosen Truecaller as your default call app.
4. Look Up Numbers With Your Camera
One of the coolest unheralded features of Truecaller is its camera lookup. When you come across any number, whether on a piece of paper or a giant sign somewhere, simply open the Truecaller app and tap the QR scan symbol at the edge of the Search bar.
It'll activate the camera in a tiny window in the menu. Point the camera at the number, and in a jiffy, Truecaller will show you the contact details.
Normally, you would have to type out a number or call it for Truecaller to search for it. The camera lookup is a much easier way to do that.
5. Truecaller Symbols: Green Dot, Red Dot, and "Call Me Back"
This is the simplest feature of Truecaller, but perhaps the most useful addition. Each Truecaller user gets to set a status, triggered automatically.
But what do the Truecaller symbols mean? A contact with the Truecaller green dot means they are available, while a red dot means they are on a call.
When you try to call someone who is already on a call, Truecaller will give you a prompt. You can choose to call anyway, or send them a "Call Me Back" request. When that person hangs up their call, Truecaller will send them a push notification with your request.
It's a simple and efficient solution to a problem that has plagued us for years. It gets rid of those "Hey, was trying to call you, let me know when you can talk" text messages.
6. Find Out a Callers' Reason For Calling
Some people don't like to answer calls from unknown numbers, even after Truecaller has identified the caller by name. With Truecaller's Call Reason feature, users will be able to learn why someone is calling them.
The question is, how does Truecaller know a caller's reason? Well, it's pretty simple. The company has essentially added a feature to its app that allows you to add reasons why you are calling a number. You can add up to three reasons, and select an appropriate category for each outgoing call. This way, call receivers can see why you're calling and be more inclined to pick up.
To use this feature, open Settings > General > Call Reason. However, the Call Reason feature is only available to Android users.
7. Call Alerts
Truecaller also sends call alerts which notify you of an incoming call even before your phone rings. A Truecaller popup appears on your phone seconds before the call drops, stating the name of the caller. This feature is pretty cool because it ensures that no call takes you by surprise.
The feature, which requires notification permissions to function, can also be disabled by simply blocking the app from sending notifications via phone settings.
Privacy: How to Unlist Your Number on Truecaller
Truecaller often gets called out for being a privacy nightmare. And that's true to an extent. The app's privacy policy is crazy and unrealistic, as pointed out by Fat Security. Even upgrading to the Pro version doesn't let you escape those violations.
The only option to get out of Truecaller's all-seeing gaze is to deactivate your account, uninstall the app, and then unlist yourself from the site.
Here's how to unlist your number on Truecaller:
- If you've installed Truecaller at any time, then start the app and go to Menu > Settings > Privacy Center > Deactivate.
- After deactivation, uninstall the app from your phone.
- Go to the Truecaller unlisting page, choose your country, and type in your phone number with the country code. You can look up your country code on Google if you don't know it, but make sure to do so, because it won't work without the country code.
- Finally, click Unlist phone number and you're done.
That said, Truecaller isn't the only app with such privacy violations. You'll find a different version of privacy attack on every caller ID app.
Other Android Apps to Make Your Life Easier
Truecaller reduces daily annoyances like spam calls, and simplifies a lot of the tasks you need to do on a regular basis. It's an app that exemplifies what good technology is all about: getting out of the way to let you do your work.
If you like it, you will also love other Android apps that not only make your life easier, but can also save your life. Literally.