IOS 18.2 Presents Spam And Scam Real-Time Blocking Features On The Truecaller App

Truecaller can now block spam and scam calls in real-time on the iPhone (photo: x @rishj)

JAKARTA - Apple has just released an iOS 18.2 update that brings an important feature to Truecaller app users on the iPhone. With this update, Truecaller can now block spam and scam calls in real-time, a feature that previously could only be optimized on Android devices.

Prior to iOS 18.2, the Truecaller app on iPhone had limitations in detecting spam calls. This is due to Apple's strict privacy policy, where the phone number of incoming calls is considered personal data. As a result, the app cannot send the number to the Truecaller server for inspection.

As a solution, Truecaller on iOS uses a periodically updated offline database. However, this approach is less effective than Truecaller on Android, which utilizes online databases to provide real-time alerts or even block calls from numbers known as spam.

With iOS 18.2, Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup API, which allows Truecaller to work more effectively without violating privacy policies. The API uses homomorphic encryption technology, where phone numbers are encrypted on iPhone devices, then sent to Truecaller servers to match with global databases. The response received was also encrypted, and the results were just decrypted on users' devices.

Truecaller is the first app in the world to widely use this technology for call identification. This technology allows Truecaller to take advantage of its latest AI capabilities and global databases to identify as many calls as possible.

Now, iPhone users can enjoy similar experiences with Android users, where almost all calls can be identified as long as the data is available on Truecaller.

In addition to real-time spam calling detection, Truecaller for iOS now also supports:

This feature is available in a free version for verified business identification, but a paid subscription is required for full access. The subscription price is 9.99 US dollars (Rp160 thousand) per month or US$74.99 per year. Truecaller also offers family packages for US$14.99 per month or US$99 (Rp1.6 million) per year for up to five users.

To take advantage of this new feature, users must:

We are excited to bring Truecaller's full power to the iPhone. We see great potential in the growth of the iPhone user base, and provide the same experience as the Android version is their biggest request. This update not only brings about that, but also ensures privacy is maintained in all call activities," said Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala.

This update will be available globally in the next few days.