'AI not accurate enough to block calls automatically': Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala
New Delhi: As regulators tighten spam rules, Swedish call management app Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala explains why the app will not automatically block calls based on flagging by artificial intelligence (AI) without user consent.
Also Read: Truecaller joins telcos against AI-based number blocking
He also discusses Truecaller's relevance amid AI solutions launched by telcos, proactive DPDP compliance, verified business APIs, and the new real-time caller ID for iOS.
Question: TRAI recently proposed draft regulations suggesting telecom operators use AI-based solutions to block spam calls. However, telcos have expressed concerns that AI might mistakenly block genuine calls, causing consumers to suffer. Is this a feasible approach?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: I completely agree with the telecom operators' stance. At Truecaller, we do not automatically block any calls; the user must actively opt in and say they wish to block spam. What is considered a bad or spam call for one person might not be spam for someone else. Because AI is a trained model and not entirely accurate, I would not have the confidence to automatically block those calls on behalf of users. We identify, but we do not block unless the user initiates it.
Question: With the government mandating CNAP (Calling Name Presentation) and regulators pushing for AI solutions, telcos are onboarding their own caller ID solutions. In such a scenario, how relevant will Truecaller be going forward?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Initiatives like CNAP and AI-based detection are great for consumers; we have been saying that the entire ecosystem needs to come together to attack this problem. However, we have always known that a name is never enough. If CNAP identifies an unknown number as "Rajesh Kumar," you still have no idea if that is a personal connection, a loan offer, or a scammer.
Truecaller goes beyond a name by providing community inputs, AI-powered signals, and user comments. We also stay one step ahead by covering messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, offering an AI assistant to answer calls on your behalf, and providing a "Family Protection" feature to safeguard vulnerable family members. So far, the partial rollout of CNAP has not had a big impact on our user base, as Truecaller continues to augment the user's experience with a more holistic solution.
Question: Let's look at this from a business perspective. Truecaller offers a verified badge to businesses, but users often flag genuine calls from these businesses as spam if they are called multiple times a day. How are you helping organizations cut through the noise?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Our stance has always been clear: if consumers tell us you are a spammer, you will always be marked as a spammer on Truecaller, even if you are part of our verified business offering. We will show the user that it is a verified call from "Bank XYZ," but we will also show that 1,200 other people have flagged it as spam. To help businesses solve this, we offer an API that allows them to set a specific "reason" for why they are calling. For example, a user is much more likely to pick up if the call clearly states it is Flipkart calling about a t-shirt order being delivered today.
Question: Is providing such APIs to businesses a growing revenue model for you?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Yes, it is a revenue-generating product for us. It has evolved into a full customer experience platform, allowing businesses to personalize the reason for their call per user. They can also verify their SMS senders to ensure higher readability, cutting through the clutter.
Also Read: Truecaller does not make users' contact list public, says company's CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala
Question: How are premium subscriptions to Truecaller scaling in a market like India?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: It is a very fast-growing area of our business. Globally, about 0.7% of our user base is premium, which leaves a lot of headroom. The advent of OTT services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube Premium has taught consumers that paying for mobile subscriptions is normal. As consumers seek advanced capabilities to protect themselves, we are seeing fast growth in our premium subscriptions.
Question: Telecom operators are increasingly developing their own in-house caller ID and AI spam detection solutions. Do you view them as direct competition, and are you open to collaborating with them to offer a unified solution?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Absolutely, we see them as head-on competition for a part of our offering, though we have always faced competition from giants like Google, Apple, and Samsung. We are always open to collaborating with telcos and frequently have conversations with them regarding fraud, spam, and caller ID.
Question: We've been hearing about these potential telco collaborations for years, but no deals have ever been announced. What is the bottleneck?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: A major factor is regulation. When regulators mandate telcos to deploy specific AI models or to roll out CNAP using KYC data—which Truecaller does not have—it derails our conversations because the telcos have to shift their focus strictly toward regulatory compliance. Furthermore, both parties have proprietary data they must be careful about sharing, and we are fundamentally very different businesses regulated by entirely different ministries (Telecom vs. IT).
Question: The DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection) Act has recently notified rules. Are you considered a large data fiduciary, and what is your preparedness like?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: We believe we will be considered a large data fiduciary. However, we started preparing for this a very long time ago when GDPR was enacted in 2018. In 2018, we voluntarily moved all our Indian citizen data to India and provided users with the exact controls the DPDP Act now requires, such as the ability to request or delete their data. We have very clean data practices, we have never sold any data, and we will be fully compliant with DPDP well before the deadline.
Question: Finally, a lot of users complain that Truecaller doesn't work effectively on iPhones compared to Android. Have you made progress there?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Yes! In January 2025, Apple finally provided the capability for developers like us to offer full, real-time caller ID. It now works in real-time on iOS, though it is a paid service, whereas it remains free on Android. We are fighting 15 years of the notion that Truecaller doesn't work on iPhone, but the capability is finally live now.
Also Read: Truecaller joins telcos against AI-based number blocking
He also discusses Truecaller's relevance amid AI solutions launched by telcos, proactive DPDP compliance, verified business APIs, and the new real-time caller ID for iOS.
Question: TRAI recently proposed draft regulations suggesting telecom operators use AI-based solutions to block spam calls. However, telcos have expressed concerns that AI might mistakenly block genuine calls, causing consumers to suffer. Is this a feasible approach?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: I completely agree with the telecom operators' stance. At Truecaller, we do not automatically block any calls; the user must actively opt in and say they wish to block spam. What is considered a bad or spam call for one person might not be spam for someone else. Because AI is a trained model and not entirely accurate, I would not have the confidence to automatically block those calls on behalf of users. We identify, but we do not block unless the user initiates it.
Question: With the government mandating CNAP (Calling Name Presentation) and regulators pushing for AI solutions, telcos are onboarding their own caller ID solutions. In such a scenario, how relevant will Truecaller be going forward?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Initiatives like CNAP and AI-based detection are great for consumers; we have been saying that the entire ecosystem needs to come together to attack this problem. However, we have always known that a name is never enough. If CNAP identifies an unknown number as "Rajesh Kumar," you still have no idea if that is a personal connection, a loan offer, or a scammer.
Truecaller goes beyond a name by providing community inputs, AI-powered signals, and user comments. We also stay one step ahead by covering messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, offering an AI assistant to answer calls on your behalf, and providing a "Family Protection" feature to safeguard vulnerable family members. So far, the partial rollout of CNAP has not had a big impact on our user base, as Truecaller continues to augment the user's experience with a more holistic solution.
Question: Let's look at this from a business perspective. Truecaller offers a verified badge to businesses, but users often flag genuine calls from these businesses as spam if they are called multiple times a day. How are you helping organizations cut through the noise?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Our stance has always been clear: if consumers tell us you are a spammer, you will always be marked as a spammer on Truecaller, even if you are part of our verified business offering. We will show the user that it is a verified call from "Bank XYZ," but we will also show that 1,200 other people have flagged it as spam. To help businesses solve this, we offer an API that allows them to set a specific "reason" for why they are calling. For example, a user is much more likely to pick up if the call clearly states it is Flipkart calling about a t-shirt order being delivered today.
Question: Is providing such APIs to businesses a growing revenue model for you?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Yes, it is a revenue-generating product for us. It has evolved into a full customer experience platform, allowing businesses to personalize the reason for their call per user. They can also verify their SMS senders to ensure higher readability, cutting through the clutter.
Also Read: Truecaller does not make users' contact list public, says company's CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala
Question: How are premium subscriptions to Truecaller scaling in a market like India?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: It is a very fast-growing area of our business. Globally, about 0.7% of our user base is premium, which leaves a lot of headroom. The advent of OTT services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube Premium has taught consumers that paying for mobile subscriptions is normal. As consumers seek advanced capabilities to protect themselves, we are seeing fast growth in our premium subscriptions.
Question: Telecom operators are increasingly developing their own in-house caller ID and AI spam detection solutions. Do you view them as direct competition, and are you open to collaborating with them to offer a unified solution?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Absolutely, we see them as head-on competition for a part of our offering, though we have always faced competition from giants like Google, Apple, and Samsung. We are always open to collaborating with telcos and frequently have conversations with them regarding fraud, spam, and caller ID.
Question: We've been hearing about these potential telco collaborations for years, but no deals have ever been announced. What is the bottleneck?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: A major factor is regulation. When regulators mandate telcos to deploy specific AI models or to roll out CNAP using KYC data—which Truecaller does not have—it derails our conversations because the telcos have to shift their focus strictly toward regulatory compliance. Furthermore, both parties have proprietary data they must be careful about sharing, and we are fundamentally very different businesses regulated by entirely different ministries (Telecom vs. IT).
Question: The DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection) Act has recently notified rules. Are you considered a large data fiduciary, and what is your preparedness like?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: We believe we will be considered a large data fiduciary. However, we started preparing for this a very long time ago when GDPR was enacted in 2018. In 2018, we voluntarily moved all our Indian citizen data to India and provided users with the exact controls the DPDP Act now requires, such as the ability to request or delete their data. We have very clean data practices, we have never sold any data, and we will be fully compliant with DPDP well before the deadline.
Question: Finally, a lot of users complain that Truecaller doesn't work effectively on iPhones compared to Android. Have you made progress there?
Rishit Jhunjhunwala: Yes! In January 2025, Apple finally provided the capability for developers like us to offer full, real-time caller ID. It now works in real-time on iOS, though it is a paid service, whereas it remains free on Android. We are fighting 15 years of the notion that Truecaller doesn't work on iPhone, but the capability is finally live now.
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