- Truecaller CEO urges govt to reconsider spam tagging limits on 1600xx and 140xx series
- Nearly 80% of calls from 1600xx series go unanswered due to user trust issues
- Truecaller gets over 100,000 reports blocking govt-authorised numbers, not marked spam
Truecaller Chief Executive Officer Rishit Jhunjhunwala has urged the government to reconsider restrictions on spam tagging for the dedicated 1600xx and 140xx number series, arguing that the current framework is causing genuine calls to go unanswered while failing to curb spam.
Speaking to NDTV Profit, Jhunjhunwala said nearly 80% of calls originating from the 1600xx series are going unanswered, highlighting a growing trust deficit among users.
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He added that Truecaller has received more than one lakh user reports seeking to block government-authorised numbers, even though the platform itself does not classify 1600xx numbers as spam.
"The problem is that legitimate calls are now being missed," he said, adding that the designated number series has "lost user trust."
According to Jhunjhunwala, whitelisting the 1600xx and 140xx series prevents users from flagging suspicious calls and could inadvertently benefit fraudsters if spammers exploit those number ranges.
He maintained that Truecaller does not create spam but merely detects and alerts users based on community feedback.
“The rise of artificial intelligence has made the challenge even greater, with AI-powered systems now capable of mimicking human voices and generating millions of spam calls every day,” he said.
Responding to the rollout of the government's Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) system, Jhunjhunwala said it only displays a caller's registered name and lacks the contextual information that helps users identify potentially fraudulent calls.
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He argued that Truecaller's services would remain relevant even after CNAP, as spam calls continue to rise.
Jhunjhunwala said the company would continue engaging with both the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), seeking permission to display spam warnings for designated number series.
He added that Truecaller plans to present data showing how misuse of these series is undermining user confidence and allowing spam to proliferate.
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