Truecaller is finally usable on the iPhone

Seven years after it first launched its iPhone app, Truecaller is finally getting real-time spam protection features.

Truecaller announced today that its iPhone app, much like its Android app, can now warn users of spam calls in real-time. Though Truecaller's iOS app has existed for as long as its Android app, some of its best features weren’t previously available to iOS users due to restrictions imposed by Apple.

But those restrictions are being lifted in iOS 10 with Apple opening CallKit Extension to third-party developers. Making use of it, Truecaller has updated its iPhone app with spam identification feature. To enable the feature, a user will need to go to Settings -> Phone -> Call Blocking and Identification, and turn it on.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

“Working closely with Apple over the past few months, we’re proud to bring a call solution to your iPhone to provide safe and authentic communication. With the massive increase in robocalls, telemarketing and phone scams, it’s more important than ever to know who’s calling you. In our early testing, we’ve seen Spam detection rates on iPhone increase by more than 50% in some markets, reaching upwards of 90% of all spam calls made to our users.” Tom Hsieh, VP Partnerships & Growth at Truecaller said. Truecaller is also adding a feature called ‘My Block List’ which would give iPhone users the ability to control the people who can contact them. The announcement comes days after Truecaller announced that its app has been used to make 500 million calls. The company also inked a deal with Huawei to further expand its presence in Western markets. The improved iPhone app could also open doors for the company to iPhone-dominated markets such as the United States. Spam calls remain a major challenge worldwide. It is estimated to cost 20 million US consumers more than $7.4 billion dollar every year, according to a study. In developing regions, spam call rates are even higher. India receives over 300 million unwanted spam calls every month, for instance. Update: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that Truecaller app was getting real-time caller ID feature for all calls.