Truecaller has introduced a new feature allowing one person to manage a family group and protect members from fraud calls. Admins can receive alerts when a member receives a suspicious call and remotely end it if necessary.
The platform, which serves over 450 million users, first tested the feature in December in countries including Sweden, Chile, Malaysia, and Kenya. Following successful trials, Truecaller has now launched the functionality globally, including in India, its largest market. The feature is free and available to all users, even those without paid plans.
A family or friend group can include up to five members. Admins receive fraud call alerts for both iOS and Android users but can only terminate calls for members on Android. Additional permissions on Android allow admins to monitor real-time activity, battery level, and sound settings, ensuring calls are made safely, particularly to elderly members.
Admins can also block specific numbers and international codes and share a blocklist with the group. Truecaller ensures privacy by not providing access to members’ non-spam call or SMS history.
Kunal Dua, Chief Product Officer at Truecaller, told TechCrunch, “This is a fundamental shift for Truecaller in addressing fraud, which affects many families worldwide.” The company is exploring AI-based solutions to detect scam calls and automatically disconnect them when certain keywords like “digital arrest” are used.
Scam calls are rising in India, causing significant financial losses. Truecaller identified over 7.7 billion fraud calls last year. The company faces challenges from declining ad revenue, a stock drop exceeding 80 percent in the past year, and competition from India’s Caller Name Presentation system, which displays carrier-registered caller names.
CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala emphasized that Truecaller continues to offer richer context beyond CNAP, aiming to provide users with superior fraud protection tools. The family admin feature underscores Truecaller’s commitment to community-based security and proactive scam prevention.
