Truecaller pivots monetization amid slowing user growth

Truecaller, which has more than 500 million users globally, is entering a challenging phase as growth slows in India, its largest market. India accounts for over 350 million users, representing about 70% of its global base. However, the company faces intensifying competition from telecom-led solutions and operating system features from Apple and Google. According to Sensor Tower, downloads in India fell 16% year-over-year in 2025, while global downloads declined 5%. Separate data from Appfigures shows:

• Annual downloads hovered around 120 million, down from a peak of 175 million in 2021.
• Truecaller’s share price has fallen about 78% since its initial public offering and is down around 37% so far this year.

The company’s reliance on advertising is the immediate risk to the business, according to Bharath Nagaraj, director of equity research at Cantor Fitzgerald. “If you look at the earnings for the company, 65%-70% of it now comes from ad revenue. And that impacted recently,” Nagaraj said. This risk was highlighted in August 2025, when Truecaller reported it lost roughly one-third of its ad traffic from its largest partner, which still accounts for more than a third of total revenue. While India’s telecom regulator is pushing Calling Name Presentation (CNAP)—a telecom-led caller ID initiative that displays names based on Know Your Customer (KYC) records—Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala stated the company does not view CNAP as a disruption. Instead, Jhunjhunwala asserted that Truecaller operates as a global platform with a dynamic intelligence layer spanning spam detection, fraud prevention, business identity, and user context, allowing it to go significantly beyond basic caller ID.

To counter these advertising headwinds, Truecaller is shifting its focus toward premium subscriptions, in-app revenue, and enterprise services. The company has over 4 million paid subscribers globally, and its other revenue streams are showing growth:

• Gross in-app revenue rose from $600,000 in 2017 to $39.3 million in 2025, and has reached $13.4 million this year as of April 20.
• Monthly in-app revenue is now consistently above $2 million.
• Enterprise revenue for its Truecaller for Business segment rose 39% in constant currency in 2025.
• Truecaller’s download share on iOS grew from less than 5% in 2020-2021 to around 11-12% recently, aided by launching real-time caller ID for iPhone in early 2025.

Alongside its commercial shift, the company faces scrutiny regarding its data practices. An investigation by The Caravan raised questions about consent and data collection practices, particularly in India. Truecaller denies wrongdoing and maintains that it complies with all applicable regulations.

Why it matters

Truecaller’s struggle highlights the difficulty of maintaining a standalone platform when operating system providers and telecom networks integrate similar features directly into the user experience.