Truecaller faces increasing pressures as its growth accelerates

Truecaller is one of the most used caller ID platforms in the world, with over 500 million users. It is now entering a very challenging phase as growth slows in its largest market and competition intensifies across all telecom networks and smartphone platforms.

Most of Truecaller’s growth is driven by India, which has more than 350 million users, or about 70% of its global base. The volume of spam and unwanted calls has turned the app from a simple caller ID service into a highly embedded layer for everyday communication.

That position is now forming its next phase. The company has introduced features such as AI assistant and Family Protection to drive monetization, alongside tools such as community suggestions to stay relevant as competition intensifies. This comes in the form of telecom-led solutions like Calling Name Presentation (CNAP), a series of dedicated numbers for authenticated business calls, and the achievement of AI-based spam protection in India. Meanwhile, smartphone makers including Apple and Google continue to build caller ID and anti-spam capabilities into their apps.

As competition increases, Truecaller’s growth is starting to slow. Data shared with TechCrunch from Sensor Tower shows downloads from India are down 16% year-on-year by 2025, while global downloads are down 5%, marking a reversal after several years of growth. Separate data from Appfigures shows downloads reaching 175 million in 2021, falling sharply in 2022 and since then increasing to around 120 million per year.

India remains Truecaller’s largest market, but its share of downloads has declined from more than 70% at its peak to the mid-50s in recent years, indicating a gradual shift in new user growth to other markets.

Truecaller’s change in growth dynamics is closely watched by investors. The company’s shares have fallen nearly 78% since its 2021 IPO and are down nearly 37% so far this year, underscoring investor concerns about its growth and business model. CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala told TechCrunch that one of the key questions from investors was about the impact of CNAP in India. He also acknowledged the recent windfall in business units, without elaborating.

CNAP, an initiative run by India’s telecom regulator and used by telecom operators, displays caller names based on KYC records at the network level without requiring third-party applications. This overlaps with part of Truecaller’s core offering, but is more limited in scope.

The CEO of Truecaller said that the company does not see CNAP as a disruption but as confirming the problem.

“Truecaller operates as a global platform with a rich and dynamic intelligence layer – including spam detection, fraud prevention, business identity, and user context across calls and messages,” he said. “This allows us to go beyond basic phone ID.”

Bharath Nagaraj, director of equity research at Cantor Fitzgerald, said CNAP could slow user growth but is unlikely to disrupt Truecaller’s core business anytime soon. Instead, he pointed to pressure on the company’s advertising division — driven in part by changes from Google — as an immediate challenge.

“If you look at the company’s earnings, 65%-70% of it now comes from ad revenue. And that has had an impact recently,” Nagaraj told TechCrunch.

In its last earnings call (PDF), Truecaller said it had lost about one-third of its ad traffic from its largest partner by August 2025 — a partner analysts identified as Google. Jhunjhunwala attributes the decline to an unresolved “algorithm problem”, while CFO Odd Bolin says the partner still accounts for more than a third of total revenue. The company is now adding new partners and building its own commerce to reduce dependence on any one platform.

But even moving to an internal ad exchange may not fully solve the challenge. Advertising remains highly competitive, with brands able to use multiple digital platforms, Nagaraj said. “You can show your ads on Truecaller, but you can also show them on Facebook,” he said.

In-app revenue continues to grow

The advertising push comes as other parts of Truecaller’s business are on a different path. Data from Appfigures shows that while downloads have increased in recent years, total in-app revenue has risen significantly – from $600,000 in 2017 to $39.3 million in 2025. It has already reached $13.4 million this year as of April 20.

Monthly revenue generated by in-app purchases on Truecaller is now over $2 million and rising, according to Appfigures.

Truecaller’s presence on iOS grew from less than 5% of total downloads in 2020–2021 to around 11-12% in recent years, according to Appfigures, highlighting a shift to higher value markets. The company has increased efforts on the Apple platform, including introducing real-time driver ID for the iPhone in early 2025 and releasing feature updates to improve compatibility with its Android system.

However, Apple has recently expanded its phone screening capabilities, which could reduce the need for third-party apps among iPhone users.

Another key pillar of Truecaller’s monetization strategy is its business offering, Truecaller for Business, which enables companies to verify their identity and connect with customers via phone calls and messages. The segment has been growing steadily, with revenues expected to increase by 39% on a recurring basis by 2025. Truecaller’s Jhunjhunwala said the company is expanding the platform globally by opening up its chat services to partners and offering tools like verified business driver ID to help businesses verify their identity and reach customers.

Alongside its business, Truecaller is also expanding its consumer subscription business, which has more than 4 million paid subscribers worldwide, as more users opt for features such as enhanced spam protection, AI-based call screening, and ad-free experiences.

In the past, Truecaller has been criticized for the way it creates and stores many of its phone identity details. An investigation by Caravan has raised questions about consent and data collection practices, particularly in India, where data protection laws have so far been lax. Truecaller has denied wrongdoing and insists it complies with applicable regulations, but the debate underscores the broader challenge of balancing usage, scale, and user privacy.

Despite all these challenges, Truecaller sees significant room for growth. The company is focused on tackling the growing complexity of communication, Jhunjhunwala said, as spam and scam calls become more sophisticated with AI advances. Similarly, it plans to expand across all three revenue streams – advertising, business services, and premium subscriptions – as it looks to maintain growth in all markets. Whether that will be enough, however, may depend on how quickly it can adapt as caller identification changes from standalone applications to the network, and to the phone itself.