Seven years after Truecaller launched its iPhone app, it is getting the real-time spam protection feature. Oh, finally!
On Thursday, Truecaller released a statement confirming that its iPhone app will now be able to warn its users of spam calls in real time. This feature has existed on Android from day one, but Truecaller hadn’t been able to bring it to iPhone because of the restrictions imposed by Apple.
At last, Apple has decided to lift those constraints in iOS 10 (which will be available from 13 Sep’16). iOS 10 will bring a plethora of new features such as new notifications, a revamped Control Center and an improved Photos app.
Along with the cool new features of users, iOS 10 also includes some essential tools for developers. While Apple highlighted the developer toolkits for Siri and iMessages, another feature that’s equally important and exciting is the addition of the Callkit Extension. This is the tool that has enabled Truecaller to activate real-time spam call filtering.
To activate the spam identification feature on iPhone, go Settings -> Phone -> Call Blocking and Identification, and turn it on.
According to an announcement made by Truecaller, this move will further increase the efficiency of the app to detect spam calls made to an iPhone. Previously the functionalities were limited due to missing features being live caller ID and real-time spam protection.
“Working closely with Apple over the past few months, we’re proud to bring a call solution to your iPhone to provide safe and authentic communication. In our early testing, we’ve seen spam detection rates on iPhone increase by more than 50 percent in some markets, reaching upwards of 90 percent of all spam calls made to our users. We fully expect these rates to continue improving for the benefit of our users,” Tom Hsieh, VP of partnerships and growth at Truecaller, said in a statement.
Another feature being added by Truecaller is ‘My Block List’. It gives the iPhone users the discretion to decide who can or cannot contact them.
Truecaller noted that its app has been used to make 500 million calls! And with these much-needed features coming to iPhone, we are sure this number will grow substantially.