Truecaller brings call recording and AI transcription capabilities to India

Truecaller has brought its call recording and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered transcription features to India. The feature initially launched in the United States in June 2023, but less than a year later, the company is expanding it to more regions. Both Android and iOS users can record incoming and outgoing calls and transcribe them with the help of artificial intelligence. It has been added as a premium feature and is only available to paid users of the app.

Truecaller said in an announcement that the feature will allow users to record calls directly within the app and eliminate the need to use any third-party app for call recording. Additionally, the company is leveraging artificial intelligence to provide a transcription feature that provides a complete transcript of the call recording once the call has ended. Interestingly, the app previously offered call recording functionality, but had to stop it after Google added restrictions on apps that use APIs designed for accessibility to record calls.

The call recording portion of iOS and Android works differently. The iPhone operating system has stricter restrictions on third-party call recording, so Truecaller users will need to access search page and click Call Recording, which will prompt the app to dial a recorded line, which the company says is a special number they provide. After that, users can call the person they want to record the call and click on the option to merge the two calls. Once the call is merged, the recording will start and the user will receive a push notification. The app maker says all recorded calls are stored locally on the device, but users can create backups on iCloud.

On Android, the process is fairly simple. Truecaller dialer includes a dedicated recording button to start and stop recording. If the user is not using the app’s dialer, they will see a floating button for recording. For both platforms, after the call ends, a push notification will indicate when the transcription is ready. Transcription available in English and Hindi. Users can listen to the recordings, rename them, delete unwanted recordings or share them with other applications.

It is worth noting that the Google Pixel 8 series and supported older-generation models, as well as Samsung smartphones that support Galaxy AI, already have built-in capabilities for real-time transcription of calls. However, users who don’t have such a feature on their smartphones can use Truecaller for a fee. It is part of the app’s paid features and users need to subscribe to Truecaller’s premium plan. In India, the paid tier starts at Rs. per month. Annual fee of Rs.75. 529.