Thanks to Apple opening up

Number and fraud check before answering calls now on iPhone - Truecaller improves

The phone tool Truecaller introduces a long-awaited feature for iOS users.

Ove Kaufeldt

Published 24 January 2025 - 00:05

After years of limited functionality on the iOS platform, Truecaller is taking a big step forward. The mobile application, which was first launched in 2008 on Symbian and Windows Mobile before coming to Android and iOS the following year, has historically offered more features on Android. This has mainly been due to Apple's restrictive policy on API access, which has prevented developers from implementing certain important features.

However, this has changed with iOS 18 where Apple has introduced a new API that allows incoming phone numbers to be matched against a central database in real-time. This means that now iOS users can also be warned about potential scam calls before they even answer - a feature that Android users have had for a long time.

The new API uses so-called homomorphic encryption to protect users' privacy, which means that phone numbers are encrypted on the user's device before being sent to the central database. The matching then occurs without the data ever being decrypted on the server, and only the user's mobile can decrypt the results. This ensures that sensitive information remains protected throughout the process.

To activate the feature on iOS, go to Settings / Apps / Phone and select Caller ID and blocking. Enable all Truecaller toggles and open the Truecaller app again.