Truecaller crosses 100 million daily active users, looks to expand offering

More than 60 percent of Truecaller's global user base is in India. From a phone number search application, it is now a full-blown social and communication offering.

Phonebook app Truecaller has crossed 100 million daily active users (DAUs). DAUs are a key metric that determines the stickiness of an app and its relevance in the everyday lives of its audience, and Truecaller seems to be scoring on that front. It has taken just a year to go from 100 million monthly active users to 100 million DAUs.

In 2017, Truecaller is said to have blocked over 300 crore spam messages. Alan Mamedi, CEO and Co-founder, Truecaller, wrote in an official blogpost, “There are only a handful of mobile-only services that impact as many users each and every day, and we are humbled to be able to join this exclusive group.”

Last year, over 500 million calls were being made via Truecaller every month. It has a worldwide user base of over 250 million, of which over 60 percent are in India. In 2017, it ranked as the fourth-most downloaded Android app in India, trailing only WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and SHAREit.

Truecaller’s native advertising platform has been a success too, having generated over 100 million impressions from India, making it an attractive proposition for big brands.

Expanding its services

The Swedish startup now aims to increase the amount of time spent on the app. So, what started as a phone number search and call blocking app is now a multifaceted social-and-communication offering that includes features like group messaging, SMS, number scanning, peer-to-peer payments (Truepay), and more.

Alan says,

“In emerging markets, we’re seeing the importance of smartphones in people’s daily lives. It’s their primary gateway to the internet, their connection with family and friends, people abroad, and increasingly their main banking and finance tool… Truecaller is more than just an app on your phone, it has aided in bridging the digital divide between the urban and growing semi-urban/rural markets in India, and has even enabled more African businesses to accept online payment.”

Earlier this year, Truecaller announced a backup feature that will enable users to retain their call logs and contact-related data while changing SIM cards or resetting their devices. The company wrote in a blogpost,

“Truecaller will backup all your contacts, call history, call logs, block list and settings preferences to a file that will be stored on your Google Drive. If you don’t already have a Google Drive account, you’ll be prompted to create one.”

It is also mulling the launch of Truecaller Pro, a subscription-driven product that will give users an ad-free experience, and include benefits like a “pro badge” and the ability to make 30 contact requests per month.