Key facts
- India's TRAI now requires caller-ID and call-management apps to share user spam reports with telecom operators.
- The reports will be sent to a blockchain-based platform maintained by telecom operators.
- Truecaller, a major app affected, stated the rule is anti-competitive and a one-way data transfer.
- India is Truecaller's largest market, with over 350 million of its 500 million global monthly active users.
- Calls made automatically or by AI voice agents will now fall under TRAI's A2P framework.
- Companies using A2P systems must declare their use and phone numbers to telcos in advance.
India's telecom regulator has updated its anti-spam regulations to compel caller-ID and call-management applications to transmit user-generated spam reports to telecom operators. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) made this amendment to its commercial communications rules on Friday, aiming to integrate app-based spam identification with the telecom industry's enforcement mechanisms.
Truecaller, a prominent app in this space and a significant player in India with over 350 million users there, has voiced strong opposition. The company described the new mandate as "anti-competitive" and a "one-way exchange" that unfairly benefits telecom operators by providing them with valuable user data. Truecaller uses community reports, automated detection, and other signals to identify and block spam calls, and reported that its users in India encountered approximately 42 billion spam calls in 2025, with the company blocking nearly 12 billion of them.
The new rules also address the increasing use of AI and automated systems for calls. Communications initiated automatically or by AI voice agents will now be classified under the application-to-person (A2P) framework, requiring companies to declare such usage and associated phone numbers to their telecom operators in advance. Undeclared A2P calls will be treated as spam.
Experts have raised questions about the practical implementation and enforcement of these rules, particularly concerning the exact nature of the data to be shared by apps and how compliance will be ensured for non-telecom entities. Clarity is also sought on user notification, consent, and data retention policies. Telecom operators will be permitted to charge up to 5 paise (approximately 0.052 cents) per minute for A2P calls, though certain designated number ranges will be exempt.