Truecaller was founded in 2009 in Stockholm, Sweden. The app allows you to identify or block callers along with payment services. The app can also sync with social media platforms like Google and Facebook.
After installing Truecaller, you’ll see that the app needs permission to access your phone book, SMS service, Location info, and tons of other information. Truecaller uses some of this information, including names and phone numbers in your contact list to add and enhance their database. Here is the full list of permissions that the app requires from you.
- Receive/Read your text messages (SMS or MMS)
- Read call log
- Full network access
- Location
- Camera
- Contact access
- View network and Wi-Fi connections
- Receive data from the Internet
- Directly call phone numbers
- Read phone status and identity
- Reroute outgoing calls
- Modify phone state
- Modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
- Disable your screen lock and prevent the device from sleeping
- Modify your contacts
- Microphone
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How does Truecaller work?
As you can see from the list, the permissions are extensive, which are then stored in the company database. This concept is called Crowd Sourcing and is used by many companies. In a way, it is a barter system of private information, where you give some of your data in exchange for other’s information.
Thus, all the 500 million+ users that have downloaded the app have registered their mobile numbers with the app.
An important point to note — that we briefly touch above — is that Truecaller uses the contact name from the phone list of the users. So, when a person calls you, you might see the ‘saved name’ of the person, which may or may not resemble the original name. For example, if someone has saved my name as ‘Sunny’ instead of ‘Hemant’, you will see Sunny in your Truecaller profile, when I will call you.
How to limit permissions to the Truecaller app?
You can limit some if not all the permissions for the app. To restrict the permissions for Truecaller, follow the steps given below.
- Open Settings > Installed apps.
- Search Turecaller and open it.
- Now, go to App permissions and turn off the camera, location, microphone and storage. Thus, you will run the app with minimum permissions that are required.
Note:Â The app will not work if you disable Contacts or Telephone permission.
Securing the data is in our own hands, and we must take the necessary precautions wherever necessary. So, if you want to minimally use Truecaller, ensure that the permissions are turned off.
How to change your name in Truecaller?
If you want to change your name in Turecaller, follow the steps given below.
- Open the Truecaller app.
- On the top left side, tap on the menu button, after which a drop-down menu will open.
- In the drop-down menu, tap on Edit Profile option.
- Tap on the inverted pen icon.
- Change your first as well as last name.
Note:Â You can also add the Company and Title by following the above steps.
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