Truecaller Brings Smarter Features To Its Directory App As It Surpasses 100 Million Registered Users – TechCrunch

Truecaller caller ID and blocking service made its Android app more intuitive today and simultaneously announced that it had passed 100 million registered users.
The Swedish company, which raised $ 60 million in October, is helping users identify incoming callers to eliminate unwanted spam and marketing calls without having to answer them. Building on those building blocks, today’s update introduces predictive features that it says turns its service into a calling app that replaces the default option on Android.
Six-year-old Truecaller wants to make the process of reaching people less time-consuming and taxing, and his new ‘suggested contacts’ feature can help you determine who to call based on your location, time of day. and call history.
For example, if you regularly call your other half when you finish work at 5:30 p.m., Truecaller will offer that as a call suggestion if you are in the app at home time.
“The more you use it, the smarter it gets, and the app can potentially help you know who to call so you don’t have to scroll through unnecessary tabs,” the company said in a statement.
Beyond the call management, Truecaller also offers an “integrated” directory, that is to say that it combines the phone numbers of your contacts with their presence on social networks, the e-mail address , etc. Now the Android app will update your in-app directory with these media details and photos.
The company has also invested in research. Beyond viewing your own contact list, the app will let you browse its main list of over 1.5 billion contacts, including its existing integration with Yelp which provides professional contact information.
Other changes include a new user interface that lets you call or text contacts all at once.
Updates were first made to the Android version, and the company tells us that it will bring basic functionality to its iOS and Windows Phone apps in early 2015. (Update: Truecaller for iOS has now got the functionality.)
âOur ambition is to have a consistent experience across all platforms, but some functionality will be adapted based on operating system guidelines with devices,â said a spokesperson.
Truecaller previously told us that it is seeing strong adoption from emerging markets, and in particular Latin America and Asia, so it makes sense that it puts a lot of emphasis on Android, which has a share dominant market in these regions.
Truecaller launched a second dedicated dialer app – Truedialer – last month, but CEO and co-founder Alan Mamedi said the update to its main app was designed to make it “smarter and more personal⦠less complicated.”
This concept is starting to gain traction with users, it seems. Truecaller claimed 85 million registered users when the funding closed in October and has now passed 100 million. The company said it was seeing 150,000 to 200,000 new users signing up per day two months ago, and told us that number has now doubled.
Truecaller is far from the only company playing in the âsmart calling appsâ space. Google itself added more social graphics-based features to Android with last year’s KitKat update, and it continues to work on improving its messaging and phone apps. India-focused messaging app Nimbuzz is now a close rival after launching a calling app for Android called Holaa that could compete in emerging markets, especially if Nimbuzz can leverage its distribution channels existing files to get downloads.
Here is Truecaller’s take on what’s new in its Android service (download link):