Truecaller launches call recording and transcription in India

Truecaller, a caller identity company, has introduced its call recording and transcription feature for premium users in India, its largest market. This feature, available on both Android and iOS, supports English and Hindi transcriptions.

In June 2023, Truecaller launched call recording for premium users in the U.S., with a distinctive feature: due to regulations, users in the U.S. would hear a beep when recording started, but this won’t be the case in India.

For Android users, Truecaller’s dialer will display a dedicated recording button. On other dialers, a floating recording button will be shown. On iOS, adhering to Apple’s CallKit restrictions, users must initiate a call, go to the Truecaller app, tap “Record a call” in the search tab, and manually merge calls to start recording.

After the call concludes, the app processes the audio and notifies when the transcription is ready. iOS recordings are stored locally, with an option to store them in iCloud.

According to TechCrunch, Truecaller faced challenges, reporting a 4% YoY revenue decrease at $41.14 million in Q4 2023 and a 2% dip in yearly revenue to $167.34 million. Despite this, monthly active users grew by 11% to 374 million, with India contributing over 70%. Truecaller aims to boost revenue with its premium plan, starting at ₹79 ($0.95) per month or ₹529 per year ($6.38), featuring call recording.

While the decline in ad revenues impacted overall revenue, user revenues increased by over 20% in Q4. Truecaller anticipates customer interest in its premium plan, emphasizing growth in subscriber revenue.

Addressing TRAI’s recommendations for a caller ID service, Truecaller stated it doesn’t view it as competitive. Despite uncertainties in the Indian ad market, Truecaller is focusing on subscriber revenue growth, particularly in the U.S. and selected markets in LatAm and Africa, according to stockbroker Numis.