Truecaller denies allegations of publicly exposing data by taking advantage of weak data privacy laws

caller id app Truecaller has responded to a report in Caravan magazine, which refutes allegations that Truecaller is taking advantage of the lack of a comprehensive legal framework in India, which allows users to access personal information such as their phone number, designation, organization name, Displays publicly, if the number is used on WhatsApp. , and other metadata without their consent. Truecaller said in its statement that there are many mistakes in the article. In response, the company also said that all the data of its users is safe and Truecaller does not sell user data. “We care deeply about our users and their data, and want to assure them that we handle their data securely and process it in accordance with our privacy policy,” the company said in its statement. “

The Caravan report, which was published earlier this week, states that Truecaller publicly exposes people’s sensitive data without their consent. The report also states that the company may re-create the complete financial profile of its registered users without their proper consent.

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The Stockholm-based company said in its statement that it has stringent security and governance measures in place. The company said it is “building great things that have a positive impact on millions of people.” To clarify an excerpt from the article, where the journalist said that Truecaller also tells people whether the number is used for WhatsApp or not, the company said that it is an Android API (Application Programming Index) that users available for convenience. “It’s there so that other apps can call or request to open WhatsApp. We don’t really know if a user is on WhatsApp or not. We only show the WhatsApp button as a convenience to users,” Truecaller said. Said that she knows that people usually use WhatsApp and it is only trying to implement WhatsApp and take the user to start a conversation.

Furthermore, the company clarified the fact that if it has 300 million monthly active users, 220 million are from India. TrueCaller has also dismissed claims that the company may create financial profiles of its users. “This is clearly false. Truecaller does not have the ability to create financial profiles. In addition, we would like to point out that Truecaller exited the UPI and payments business in March 2021. We deal with UPI and payments as well as digital Loans exited both. Digital lending in partnership with NBFC partners was a trial run,” the company said.

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On allegations that the privacy protection status is minimal, Truecaller said it has a “Robussy privacy policy that protects user rights.” “Truecaller is subject to over 150 data regulation regimes and we are committed to always complying with local regulations. We also give users the power to control their data, how it is displayed and data for anyone We are committed to following the privacy design principles, data collection and use of limiting what is relevant to our services.”

In its point-to-point response to the report in The Caravan, Truecaller also denied that people’s phone numbers with their professional identities are there for the whole world to see. The company said that this is not true as one cannot get the number by registering the name in Truecaller. “You can just input a number and get a possible name associated with that number. It could be a spammer, a scammer, a harasser or anyone you want to receive calls from,” the company said.

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Truecaller’s statement answers all the allegations made in the report one by one. The company has said that it relies deeply on trust and communication with its users and assures people that it handles their data securely and in accordance with a “robust” privacy policy that protects user rights. processes.

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