Truecaller’s digital government directory: What is it, how it may help users, and more

Truecaller has launched an in-app digital government directory aimed to support interaction between citizens of India and the government by giving easy access to thousands of verified contacts of government officials. “This is an important step to build trust in citizen services by protecting users from any scams, fraud and spam,” said the company. India is the biggest market for Truecaller. The country accounts for 77% of the Truecaller app’s customer base with almost 240 million users. The initiative is aimed at helping and streamlining public access to government representatives and assisting over 240 million Indian Truecaller users in connecting with the government in a hassle-free manner.

What will the directory offer
The digital government directory gives access to helplines, law enforcement agencies, embassies, educational institutes, hospitals, and other key departments of about 23 states across the country to Truecaller app users. The list also includes union territories. According to the company, this information has been sourced directly from the government, and official government sources.

Truecaller directory aimed to help prevent frauds
One of the most common scams on smartphones involve impersonation of government officials. Fraudsters call claiming to be government officials and dupe innocent citizens into sharing their important banking and other credentials. The creation of a verified government contact directory aims to protect Truecaller users from such frauds and scams.

How users will know it is verified number
Users will see a green background and a blue tick, indicating that the number is verified. Truecaller said that it is working with different government departments to expand the directory. The company is looking at adding contacts at the district and municipal levels in the next phase, based on user feedback. Truecaller has also created a simple process for any government agency to share information and get verified on the directory.
Commenting on the launch of the feature, Pragya Misra, Director of Public Affairs, Truecaller said, “Truecaller has evolved to become more than just a Caller Identification app and is today bridging the digital divide between the urban and growing semi-urban/rural markets in India by enabling trust in digital communication. Our attempt is to protect people from widespread impersonation of government officials leading to scams and frauds. We believe that with this feature, citizens can easily reach out to the right authorities when in need. This is a first of its kind digital directory of government numbers and we will keep improving on it based on user feedback. We will continue to align our efforts to make communication safe by building trust.”