Truecaller today launched a new service for iPhone users in India called Live Caller ID. This function, as its name suggests, reveals to the user the identity of the caller on the screen. The Stockholm-based company has around 38 million users. On Android phones, if users receive an unknown call from someone, Truecaller immediately displays the caller ID on the call screen. Things work differently on the iPhone. When receiving a call from an unknown number on an iOS device, users need to activate Siri to know the caller ID. They should say “Hey Siri, Search Truecaller” and Siri will display the user’s live caller ID.

Live caller ID is a premium feature of the Truecaller app and iPhone users will need to purchase a premium subscription to use this feature. In India, TrueCaller offers two subscription tiers – Premium and Gold Premium. An individual member’s premium subscription costs Rs. 529 per year or Rs. 179 for three months, while a Gold plan costs Rs. 5,000 per year.

Introducing, for the very first time – Live Caller ID on iPhone!

All you have to do is say “Hey Siri, Search Truecaller”.#HeySiriSearchTruecaller pic.twitter.com/clomwxwJxc

—Truecaller (@Truecaller) April 12, 2023

The app has become one of the most popular among smartphone users. Nonetheless, the company has previously come under fire for the way it obtains data for its caller ID service.

Truecaller’s data was said to be “composed of details that were collected without consent”, according to a report by Indian magazine The Caravan last year. The Swedish firm, on the other hand, refuted the accusations, saying the research was flawed and based on faulty information.

According to a TechCrunch report, Nakul Kabra, product manager of Truecaller for iOS, the app has had limited experience with iOS devices due to the way Apple works with external third-party caller ID apps.

Truecaller’s current caller ID framework is confined to a finite set of numbers held in directories within Apple’s CallKit framework and chosen by Truecaller’s anti-spam algorithm. Other numbers that aren’t registered locally, he says, will have to be found manually.

To provide the intended live caller ID experience, the system uses Siri Shortcuts and Apple’s App Intents. Users must first activate the Search Truecaller shortcut on their iPhone devices by selecting the Add to Siri option from the Premium menu. The person will be prompted the first time the shortcut is used to consent to Truecaller searching for screenshots captured by the shortcut.