Truecaller has brought its call recording and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered transcription features to India. The feature was initially introduced in the US in June 2023, but after less than a year, the company is expanding it to more regions. Both Android and iOS users will be able to record incoming and outgoing calls and transcribe them using the help of AI. It is being added as a premium feature and will only be available to the paid users of the app.
In an announcement, Truecaller stated that this feature will allow users to directly record calls within the app, and will eliminate the need to use any third-party app for call recordings. Further, the company has leveraged AI to also offer a transcription feature that will provide full transcription of the recorded calls, once the call has ended. Interestingly, the app used to offer call recording earlier, but had to discontinue after Google added restrictions for apps using an API designed for accessibility features to record calls.
The call recording part works differently for both iOS and Android. The iPhone operating system is more restrictive when it comes to third-party call recording, so Truecaller users will need to go to the Search page and tap Record a call, which will prompt the app to call a recording line, which the company says is a special number provided by them. After that, users can call the person they wish to record the call of, and click the option to merge both calls. Once the call is merged, recording will begin and the user will get a push notification. The app maker stated that all the recorded calls are stored locally on the device, however, users can create a backup on iCloud.
On Android, the process is rather straightforward. The Truecaller dialler includes a dedicated recording button that can start and stop recording. If a user is not using the app's dialer, they will see a floating button to record. For both platforms, once the call has ended, a push notification will indicate when the transcription is ready. Transcriptions are available in English and Hindi languages. Users can listen to recordings, rename them, delete unwanted ones, or share them with other apps.
It should be noted that the Google Pixel 8 series and supported models from older generations, as well as Samsung smartphones supporting Galaxy AI already have an inbuilt feature to transcribe calls in real-time. However, users who do not have such a feature in their smartphone can use Truecaller at a cost. It is part of the app's paid features, and users will need to subscribe to Truecaller's Premium plan. In India, the paid tiers start at a monthly cost of Rs. 75 and a yearly price of Rs. 529.
