Truecaller has rolled out a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will block all spam calls automatically, offering better security from spammers and potential scammers. The feature, which is only available on its Android app, adds a new ‘Max' protection tier for spam calls. It is being added as a premium feature and will only be available to the paid users of the app. Notably, the new feature comes less than a month after Truecaller introduced call recordings and AI-powered transcriptions feature in India.
Paid subscribers on the Truecaller app can head to Settings > Block to find the new feature. Earlier this setting offered two tabs — Off and Basic — for users to choose from. When set to Off, spam callers are identified but not blocked, and in Basic mode, the app automatically blocks calls from numbers which have been mass-reported to be spammers. Now, there is a new tab labeled Max. We, at Gadgets 360, were able to confirm the addition of this feature.
Upon selecting Max, the app will automatically block calls from all known spammers. This setting also comes with a warning that it might block calls from some legitimate businesses. In an interaction with TechCrunch, Kunal Dua, Vice President of Search at Truecaller explained that the company tested “multiple dozen algorithms” across different markets it operates in to identify spam numbers and then used its AI systems to deploy the feature. The company also added that it has taken user feedback to make improvements to the feature and will continue to do so.
While the feature does come with a warning that users may lose out on some legitimate calls, and the company promises to take users' feedback, the company has not revealed its method to identify spam calls. Users do have an option to report calls as spam, but it is not certain if Truecaller uses other methods to identify such numbers on its own.
The AI-powered ‘Max' spam blocking feature is only available on Truecaller's Android app, as iOS does not allow caller ID apps to track the spammer status or block those numbers automatically. Users will need to subscribe to Truecaller's Premium plan to access it, however. In India, the paid tiers start at a monthly cost of Rs. 75 and a yearly price of Rs. 529.
