Caller-ID and call-management apps must now transmit users' spam reports to a blockchain-based system run by telecom operators, giving telcos direct access to crowdsourced complaint data and prompting Truecaller to call the move anti-competitive.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India amended commercial communications rules to link app-collected flags with the industry’s enforcement platform. The regulator framed the change as a way to expand the universe of actionable spam reports and strengthen steps against bulk and fraudulent callers.
Truecaller, which says India represents well over 350 million of its more than 500 million monthly active users globally, criticised the requirement as a "one-way exchange" that hands a commercially valuable asset from independent call-management services to network operators. The company previously reported that its users in India encountered around 42 billion spam calls in 2025, and that it blocked nearly 12 billion spam calls that year.
The new rules maintain an existing restriction that prevents apps from automatically tagging or blocking calls originating from government-designated number ranges used for promotional, service, and transactional messages, although individual users can still block such calls on their devices. That exemption has been a point of contention between regulator and app developers.
Industry advisers warn the change raises technical and jurisdictional questions. Sumeysh Srivastava, a partner at consulting firm The Quantum Hub, said the policy binds two layers: operators providing the network and anti-spam ledger, and third-party apps that analyse call behaviour. He noted uncertainty over what reporting standards apps must meet and how the rules will be enforced against entities that are not telecom operators.
Kazim Rizvi of The Dialogue flagged another distinction, between submitting a single user’s spam flag and handing over the larger datasets, reputation signals, or analytic systems that underpin spam detection. He said the regulation needs to define what data must be transmitted, how users are informed or consent obtained, and how the information can be retained and reused.
The amendments also fold automated calling into the application-to-person framework. Calls placed automatically, including robocalls or those using prerecorded or artificial voices, must be declared to operators in advance, and undeclared A2P calls will be treated as spam. Telecom operators may charge a termination fee of up to 5 paise (about 0.052 cents) per minute for such calls, though certain designated number ranges remain exempt. Satya N. Gupta, a former TRAI official, said the rules require disclosure of automated systems rather than banning their use, and that the key test is how a call is initiated.
Critical details remain unresolved. The regulator has not specified which data fields apps must provide, whether system dialers and OS-level spam features are covered, or what enforcement mechanisms will apply. Those gaps will determine whether the rule simply centralises reporting for enforcement or transfers competitive advantage from app makers to network operators.
