One of the biggest frustrations for users across the country or world is receiving spam calls. This usually happens when we aren’t able to identify who is calling in case it is an unsaved number. While there are apps such as Truecaller, not everyone wants to sign up for it because of privacy concerns. However, you won’t need to sign up for any third-party caller identification app after TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) brings its new measure to life. According to an FE report, TRAI will soon bring a measure which will ensure that whenever a user receives a call, the name of the caller flashes on the screen. TRAI will leverage the KYC (know your customer) database for the information. Whether the feature would require another app or it will be integrated into the default caller app is something we will have to wait and watch.
No More Worries about Who is Calling
Even if the number from which you are getting the call is not saved on your device, you will be able to see the name for it. While Truecaller is not really a bad option, there’s one limitation to the app. The data of Truecaller is crowdsourced. It is not coming through the KYC database. But TRAI would be able to leverage the KYC database making the system more effective and accurate. Through the KYC data, the authorities would also be able to see whether the telecom service providers followed the complete protocol for storing user data or if they went for shortcuts. It is not just the regular calls that will be integrated with the caller identification mechanism of TRAI, but also the WhatsApp calls. The report mentions that WhatsApp calls would also flash the names of the people who are registered with the number they are calling from. WhatsApp accounts are also linked with the phone numbers of the users. But this would be a separate exercise and would be worked upon after the feature has been implemented for regular calls through the default voice calling apps. There are some who don’t like the development as they believe that this would amount to an invasion of privacy. However, TRAI would conduct a consultation process for the same before it goes ahead with the move. The final decision would have to come from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for the implementation of the mechanism. TRAI will submit its recommendations to the DoT after the consultation process.
