In an interesting turn of events, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Swedish caller-ID app Truecaller are locking horns with each other and have ended up in a dispute. The app is being used by more than 300 million Indians, and the dispute is over what a "spam" really is, and who can define that.
ALSO READ: BSNL Cheap Recharge Plan: Get 20 Days Validity With 3GB Data And 200 Minutes Calling, Check Price
What Is The Dispute About?
The disagreement between the two parties arises from a series of special phone numbers that TRAI, in late 2025, had implemented for various services like telemarketing and banking services, or other such service-related calls. This was used by TRAI to help people identify genuine business calls over spam, but apparently, things have got more confusing. Truecaller is of the opinion that people are now even ignoring real bank and company calls because of that, and TRIA believes that Truecaller is making it worse by discouraging users from accepting those calls. Yes its confusing.
TRAI Goes To The Ministry Of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
The issue has come to the fore after TRAI approached the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) with the intent to take action against apps like Truecaller, Hiya and Whoscall. Soon after, Truecaller responded on X with a lengthy post on July 8, where Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala challenged the regulator's approach, while also sharing their own company data.
The Number Series 140 and 1600 Central To The Dispute
TRAI had introduced a special number series in which 140 was used for telemarketers and promotional calls and 1600-series was given to banks and regulated entities.
Why Is Truecaller Opposing the Rule?
When TRAI introduced the 140 and 1600 number series for commercial and service-related calls, it also instructed caller ID apps not to display community-reported spam labels for these numbers. The idea was to help users identify legitimate business calls more easily.
Truecaller, however, says the move has created an unintended problem. Even if thousands of users report a particular 140 or 1600 number for spam or scam activity, the app cannot show its usual spam warning because of the regulator's directions. According to the company, this leaves users without an important warning that they have come to rely on.
Spam Calls May Be Going Unnoticed
Truecaller claims the restriction has not improved trust in the dedicated number series. Instead, it says many users have become even more cautious about answering calls from these numbers.
Sharing internal data on X, Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said more than 51 million calls from the 140 and 1600 series go unanswered every day. Over the past eight months, users ignored 81 percent of calls from 140-series numbers and 79 percent of calls from 1600-series numbers, indicating that confidence in these caller IDs has continued to decline.
The company also pointed to a sharp rise in manual blocking. Since October 2025, blocking of 1600-series numbers has increased by 208 percent. During the last eight months, users blocked around 74 million calls from the two number series. On average, Truecaller says its users now block about 400,000 calls from 140-series numbers and another 125,000 calls from 1600-series numbers every day.
A New Way to Alert Users
According to Truecaller, the rule is also making life harder for legitimate businesses, as genuine service updates, OTP verification calls and transaction-related calls are increasingly being ignored by customers.
Since it cannot display spam labels for these numbers, the company has introduced a new "Frequently Blocked" badge. Instead of calling a number spam, the badge simply tells users that a large number of people have blocked it, allowing Truecaller to provide additional context while remaining within TRAI's guidelines.
What Happens Next?
There is no final resolution yet. TRAI has asked to be recognised as an authorised agency under the Information Technology Act, but the proposal is still awaiting a decision from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Before taking a call, the ministry is consulting the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Until then, Truecaller is sticking with its newly introduced "Frequently Blocked" badge as an alternative to spam labels for 140 and 1600-series numbers. The company has also said it will present its data to the government in an effort to show why it believes the current rules need to be revisited.
TRAI, however, has not publicly addressed Truecaller's numbers in detail. The regulator has maintained that its focus is on enforcing telecom regulations and that it is not seeking to regulate caller identification apps.
The disagreement has also drawn in other stakeholders. Banks want stronger safeguards to ensure customers recognise and answer genuine service calls, while internet industry groups have warned against giving TRAI broader powers under the IT Act.
For consumers, the outcome could shape how business calls are identified in the future. The 140 and 1600 number series were introduced to make legitimate commercial and service calls easier to recognise. However, according to Truecaller, its data now shows that nearly four out of every five calls from these official number series go unanswered, raising fresh questions over whether the current system is achieving its intended purpose.