If you are getting too many unnecessary calls you can now avoid them by using True Caller. It’s a free service which shows you details about the unknown incoming calls. True caller is available as a free mobile app for all major mobile platforms.
Once you install the mobile app on your phone, it starts checking all incoming calls. And if there’s a call from an unknown number, it queries its database and shows the caller details on the phone screen if a match is found. The accuracy of its phone number database may surprise you.
Reverse phone lookup services have been around forever but they are mostly limited to a particular country or region. TrueCaller, which launched in 2009, claims to have more five million users and a global view. I tried this app in India and it worked pretty well. And it provides details about both mobile and landline numbers.
You can also use this service online at truecaller.com. Here you can perform the same phone number searches inside your computer browser. In some cases, the site may also show you the profile picture of that person along with their recent status updates on social sites like Facebook or LinkedIn.
If you are wondering from where this app gets its data from? When you install the app it uploads your phone’s entire address book (that includes names and phone numbers of contacts) to TrueCaller servers. So beware, don’t install this app if you are apprehensive about sharing your address book with anyone. Although the TrueCall service website also says it doesn’t “give away, share or sell any (user’s) data.”
If you are unhappy to see your number listed in the app’s database there an easy way to delist it.
Related: How to Block Calls on Android
