Truecaller faces mounting pressures as its growth matures

Truecaller is likely one of the world’s most generally used caller identification platforms, with more than 500 million users. Now it’s getting into a tougher section as development slows in its largest market and competitors intensifies throughout telecom networks and smartphone platforms.

A lot of Truecaller’s development has been pushed by India, which accounts for over 350 million users, or about 70% of its world base. The amount of spam and undesirable calls has turned the app from a easy caller ID service right into a extra embedded layer of on a regular basis communication.

That place is now shaping its subsequent section. The corporate has launched options reminiscent of AI Assistant and Family Protection to drive monetization, alongside instruments like Community Suggestions to remain related as competitors intensifies. This comes as telecom-led options reminiscent of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP), dedicated number series for verified enterprise calls, and AI-based spam protection achieve traction in India. In the meantime, smartphone makers together with Apple and Google proceed to construct caller identification and spam-blocking capabilities into their working programs.

As competitors will increase, Truecaller’s development is beginning to sluggish. Information shared with TechCrunch from Sensor Tower reveals downloads from India fell 16% year-over-year in 2025, whereas world downloads declined 5%, marking a reversal after a number of years of development. Separate knowledge from Appfigures reveals downloads peaked at 175 million in 2021, dropped sharply in 2022 and have since hovered round 120 million yearly.

India stays Truecaller’s largest market, however its share of downloads has declined from over 70% at its peak to the mid-50s in recent times, pointing to a gradual shift in new person development towards different markets.

Truecaller’s shift in development dynamics is being intently watched by buyers. The corporate’s shares have fallen about 78% since its 2021 IPO and are down round 37% to this point this 12 months, underscoring investor considerations about its development outlook and enterprise mannequin. Chief Government Rishit Jhunjhunwala instructed TechCrunch that one of many key questions from buyers has been across the affect of CNAP in India. He additionally acknowledged current headwinds in elements of the enterprise, with out elaborating additional.

CNAP, an initiative pushed by India’s telecom regulator and is being implemented by telecom operators, shows caller names primarily based on KYC information on the community stage with out requiring third-party apps. This overlaps with a part of Truecaller’s core providing, however is extra restricted in scope.

Truecaller’s Jhunjhunwala stated the corporate doesn’t see CNAP as a disruption however as validation of the issue.

“Truecaller operates as a world platform with a a lot richer and dynamic intelligence layer — spanning spam detection, fraud prevention, enterprise id, and person context throughout calls and messages,” he stated. “This enables us to go considerably past primary caller ID.”

Bharath Nagaraj, director of fairness analysis at Cantor Fitzgerald, stated CNAP might sluggish person development however is unlikely to materially disrupt Truecaller’s core enterprise within the close to time period. As a substitute, he pointed to strain within the firm’s promoting section — pushed partially by adjustments from Google — because the extra quick problem.

“In the event you take a look at the earnings for the corporate, 65%–70% of it now comes from advert income. And that impacted lately,” Nagaraj instructed TechCrunch.

In its last earnings call (PDF), Truecaller stated that it misplaced roughly one-third of advert site visitors from its largest accomplice in August 2025 — a accomplice analysts on the decision recognized as Google. Jhunjhunwala attributed the drop to an unresolved “algorithm concern,” whereas CFO Odd Bolin stated the accomplice nonetheless accounts for greater than a 3rd of complete income. The corporate is now including new companions and constructing its personal advert trade to cut back dependence on any single platform.

However even transferring to an in-house advert trade might not absolutely tackle the problem. Promoting stays extremely aggressive, with manufacturers capable of spend throughout a number of digital platforms, stated Nagaraj. “You’ll be able to present your advertisements on Truecaller, however you too can present them on Fb,” he stated.

In-app income continues to develop

The strain on promoting comes whilst different elements of Truecaller’s enterprise are on a distinct trajectory. Information from Appfigures reveals that whereas downloads have plateaued in recent times, gross in-app income has risen sharply — from $600,000 in 2017 to $39.3 million in 2025. It has already reached $13.4 million this 12 months as of April 20.

Month-to-month income generated by in-app purchases on Truecaller is now constantly above $2 million and nonetheless climbing, per Appfigures.

Truecaller’s presence on iOS has additionally grown from lower than 5% of its complete downloads in 2020–2021 to round 11–12% in recent times, per Appfigures, highlighting a shift towards higher-value markets. The corporate has stepped up efforts on Apple’s platform, together with launching real-time caller ID for iPhone in early 2025 and rolling out characteristic updates to enhance parity with its Android app.

Nonetheless, Apple lately expanded its call-screening capabilities, which might scale back the necessity for third-party apps amongst iPhone customers.

One other key pillar of Truecaller’s monetization technique is its enterprise providing, Truecaller for Enterprise, which permits firms to confirm their identities and talk with prospects by way of calls and messaging. The section has been rising steadily, with revenue rising 39% in constant currency in 2025. Truecaller’s Jhunjhunwala stated the corporate is increasing the platform globally by opening its chat companies to companions and providing instruments reminiscent of verified enterprise caller ID to assist enterprises confirm id and attain prospects.

Alongside its enterprise push, Truecaller has additionally been increasing its client subscription enterprise, which has over 4 million paid subscribers globally, as extra customers go for options reminiscent of superior spam safety, AI-based name screening, and an ad-free expertise.

Previously, Truecaller has been criticized over the way it builds and maintains its huge database of cellphone identities. An investigation by The Caravan raised questions on consent and knowledge assortment practices, notably in India, the place knowledge safety legal guidelines have to this point been much less stringent. Truecaller has denied wrongdoing and maintains that it complies with relevant laws, however the debate underlines the broader problem of balancing utility, scale, and person privateness.

Regardless of all these challenges, Truecaller sees vital room for development. The corporate is concentrated on addressing the rising complexity of communication, Jhunjhunwala stated, as spam and rip-off calls turn out to be extra refined with advances in AI. Equally, it plans to develop throughout all three income streams — promoting, enterprise companies, and premium subscriptions — because it seems to maintain development throughout markets. Whether or not that shall be sufficient, nonetheless, might rely on how shortly it will possibly adapt as caller identification shifts from standalone apps to the community, and to the cellphone itself.