Don't tag 1600 series calls as 'frequently blocked': TRAI tells Truecaller
New Delhi, July 19
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has raised objections to Truecaller's display of a "frequently blocked" badge on calls originating from the dedicated 140 and 1600 number series, saying such labels could mislead telecom consumers and create unnecessary suspicion around legitimate commercial and government communications.
A senior TRAI official said tagging regulated number series with labels such as "frequently blocked" is not advisable as it can confuse users and undermine confidence in calls that are made under the regulator's prescribed framework.
Instead, the official suggested that Truecaller should display a message informing users that they can exercise their choice to block unwanted promotional communications from the 140 series through TRAI's official Do Not Disturb (DND) preference management application.
According to the regulator, greater public awareness of the DND framework would be a more effective solution than labelling individual numbers, as it allows consumers to manage their communication preferences in a structured manner.
TRAI has designated the 1600 series exclusively for service and transactional calls made by regulated banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) entities, including those supervised by the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The series is also used for government-to-citizen communications.
The 140 series, meanwhile, has been earmarked for promotional calls made by registered entities across sectors.
The senior official cautioned that under no circumstances should 1600 series numbers be tagged in a manner that discourages consumers from answering them, as such calls could include critical fraud alerts, transaction verifications, banking notifications and government communications.
The regulator's remarks come amid an ongoing disagreement between TRAI and Truecaller over the display of labels on the dedicated 140 and 1600 number series.
Truecaller has argued that spam calls have increased after TRAI mandated the use of dedicated number series while restricting caller identification apps from displaying community-reported spam information for those numbers.
According to the company, many users have begun ignoring or blocking calls from these series, reducing trust in genuine business communications.
— IANS
Reader Comments
TRAI is right in principle - the 1600 series is meant for genuine banking and government calls. But their DND app is so clunky, nobody uses it. Instead of blaming Truecaller, fix the system first! Make it easier for us to report spam without downloading another app.
As an NRI, I find this whole debate fascinating. In the US, we rely on apps like Truecaller to filter spam. But India's approach of centralizing number series seems thoughtful - if only the implementation worked. The regulator wants trust, but people just want to avoid nuisance calls.
I had an important call from my bank using 1600 number, and I almost ignored it because Truecaller showed 'frequently blocked'. Then I missed my card fraud alert. TRAI is right here - labels like that can cause real harm. But they need to enforce strict anti-spam measures for 140 series first.
TRAI, wake up! Your DND app has 2-star rating on Play Store. We need simpler solutions. If Truecaller blocked those series, I'd actually miss important calls from IRDAI or SEBI about policy updates. But the 140 series? Those numbers spam us all day long - the 'frequently blocked' tag is deserved there.
Interesting conflict between innovation and regulation. Truecaller is trying to solve a real problem, but TRAI wants control. Maybe a compromise: show the tag only for 140 series numbers, but for 1600 series, display a green 'registered number' badge instead of blocking info. That way, consumers stay informed without being misled.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.