Google Phone app
Truecaller has become a behemoth. It has more than 100 million active, daily, users, and continues to help identify callers around the world. However, other than its shady privacy policy, and banned in Russia, their recent update in India automatically registered some existing users to its payments service Truecaller Pay without their consent.
While the company has accepted its mistake and said it will deregister every user who was inadvertently added, many users, including me, are now looking for an alternative.
Before we begin
Like Truecaller, most of these apps collect (and possibly sell) your contact list data. Always remember, if you are not paying for the product, there is a good chance that you are the product. Meaning, they are either advertising to you or selling your data to make up for the server cost and other expenses.
Thankfully, Truecaller does allow you to remove your number from their database. Simply go here and enter the number you’d like to unlink. If you are still not satisfied with Truecaller’s privacy policy or it’s not available in your country anymore, well, we got you covered.
Truecaller Alternatives
1. Phone App
Google recently released the Phone app on Google play store for the non-Pixel devices. Now, the phone app can screen spam calls and it can even detect numbers from around you. You can just head over to the phone app and simply search KFC, Domino’s Pizza, or the nearest Wallmart number. It will provide you the contact number and location.
The Google Phone app doesn’t work on particular Samsung, One Plus, and Realme devices.
The phone app can mostly detect businesses or enterprises who are listed on Google Maps. It’s not effective on personal mobile numbers and isn’t an ideal True Caller alternatives
Download Phone by Google (Android | APKMirror)
2. Showcaller
Showcaller is a small and lite app, sitting at 4mb which can identify calls from people who are not in your contact list. There is a feature to block numbers from which you don’t want to receive calls anymore.
It comes with a T9 dialer which makes searching for numbers and making calls easier. Showcaller has a user base of about 20 million. The app is ad-supported and comes with in-app purchases.
It comes with a smart search and reverse lookup. Whenever and wherever you copy a number, Showcaller will identify it. The has a built-in call recorder and is also compatible backward, all the way to Android 3.0.
Download Showcaller (Android)
3. Whoscall
Whoscall claims to have a database of more than 1 billion numbers with a community of more than 50 million. Not bad. It comes with all the usual features like caller identification and block. They also have a business product called Whoscall card.
It is a paid business solution that aims to considerably increase the chances of your phone call getting picked up. When you call someone who doesn’t have your number stored, instead of showing a normal card with a name that was crowdsourced, it will show a rich card with your business details.
Download Whoscall (Android | iOS)
4. Hiya
Hiya is a Truecaller alternative caller ID and blocker app that is free to use and comes with no ads, unlike some other caller ID apps like Truecaller. Before Hiya was rebranded, it was called WhitePages Caller ID. Hiya has a large user base and though the official number has not been disclosed, it runs in the millions.
Hiya comes built-in with Samsung’s Phone app. Additionally, it’s available for iOS and Android. One thing that it is missing right now is reverse lookup and smart search.
4. Trapcall
Trapcall offers something that others fail to. While most caller id apps identify numbers based on the data they have collected from their user base, Trapcall will also identify calls from private numbers.
Have you ever received a blank call that says ‘no caller id’? You can now identify the person hiding behind this feature. This is good for those who are being harassed by stalkers. Now, you can collect evidence to file a police complaint. They have a pro plan that will also record calls so you can use it as evidence against your digital stalker.
Download Trapcall (Android |Â iOS)
5. CallerSmart
CallerSmart is another Truecaller alternative that will help you identify your caller. What I like about them is the ability to opt out of the whole crowdsourcing of numbers game. You don’t have to share your entire contacts list with them to use their service. Privacy, for once, gets priority.
Also Read:Â 5 Ways To Record Calls on iPhone or Android
If someone searches for your name and number, you will know. They provide a map feature where they will show the caller’s location on a map. Pretty cool. CallerSmart maintains a record of past searches too. While the app is free to use, you can buy credits starting at $3.99 to tap into their ‘paid data sources’.
Download CallerSmart (iOS)
6. Wide Protect
Wide Protect made the list because it does something that no other caller id and blocker app can do, so far. It can not only identify callers but also help block them by the area codes. So, you enter an area code and all the calls from that area will be blocked forever.
The app will cost you $2.99 but is worth the cost. You can be more specific about the numbers who are calling you from a particular are. Wide Protect has a database of more than 30 million numbers.
Download Wide Protect (iOS)
7. Mr. Number
Mr. Number comes from the makers of the popular Hiya app that I shared above. Think of Mr. Number as the more popular sibling of the two.
Similar to Wide Protect, Mr. Number will identify spam calls and allow you to block numbers using prefixes. This means you can block calls using area codes. Mr. Number also works for phone calls from unknown numbers which makes it useful if you have a stalker.
The community is active and you can comment on each number you get a call from. This makes it easy to whitelist or blacklist unknown numbers.
It comes with a subscription model that will add features like caller id and name lookups. There is support for reverse lookup.
Download Mr. Number (Android | iOS)
8. True Contact
True Contact is another run of the mill true caller alternative that will help you identify your caller before you pick up the phone. Like all the others before it, there is a call and SMS block feature.
True Contact differs in its social feature where all the contacts are cross-checked with data found on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. This makes it more reliable because these social media sites need people to verify their profiles using their real numbers. Good call.
Apart from this, the app works just like the rest of the apps targeting this segment.
Download True Contact (Android)
9. Drupe
Drupe is not just a caller Id app. It is much more than that. You see, Drupe wants to be your go-to app for everything that is related to your calls and messages. It comes with an intuitive interface that will show itself when you slide from the left of your screen.
There are features like caller ID, call recorder, app shortcuts, themes, GIF caller, and call blocker. There are also a lot of annoying ads that will force you to upgrade to the pro plan that will cost you $3.99. When you upgrade, you will get drive mode, block calls, and more themes.
Download Drupe (Android | iOS)
Wrapping Up:Â Truecaller Alternative
These are 8 Truecaller alternatives that are available on Android and iOS platforms. Honestly, no one comes close to the sheer success of Truecaller and because Truecaller is so popular, they also have the largest database of them all.
This is not to say the competition is not good. Apps like Trapcall definitely solves a problem and has found a niche for itself. So, which one are you using?
Also Read:Â 6 Best Fake Incoming Call Apps for Android
