Getting Started
What is Truecaller Family Protection?
Truecaller Family Protection is a feature that allows you to create a trusted group of family members, providing a shared safety net against spam and fraud. A designated Family Admin can remotely manage protection settings and even intervene in live fraud calls, making it easy to protect loved ones. The feature also enhances family connection by allowing members to share real-time status updates with each other.
What is a Family Group?
A Family Group is a small, trusted circle of up to 5 people created within the Family Protection feature. It has one or more "Admins" who can manage protection settings for the other "Members" in the group.
How do I start a Family Group?
Any Truecaller user can create a Family Group. When you create a group, you automatically become its first Admin. You can then invite up to four other people to join. To start, navigate to your call log and tap the Family Protection banner or the Family Protection icon located in the top bar.
What are the different roles within a Family Group?
There are two main roles:
Admin: A participant with permissions to invite and remove users, assign roles, and remotely configure the block settings for Members.
Member: A participant for whom an Admin sets and manages protection configurations.
What happens when I invite someone to my Family Group?
When you invite someone, they become a "Pending Member" until they accept the invitation. They will receive a notification and see a banner in their app prompting them to accept or decline the invitation. They are not added to the group until they accept the invite. Please note that the invitation is valid for a limited period of time.
Managing Your Group
Can there be more than one Admin in the Family Group?
Yes. An existing Admin can promote any Member to also become an Admin. To do this, go to the Family Group Centre, tap the three-dot menu on a Member's card, and select "Make family admin".
Can I be in more than one Family Group?
No, any Truecaller user can only belong to one Family Group at a time.
How do I leave or delete a Family Group?
Any Member, or any Admin in a group with multiple admins, can choose to leave the group at any time. If you are the only Admin in the group, you cannot leave; you only have the option to delete the group entirely. These options are available in the Family Group Centre menu.
Features & Privacy
What settings can an Admin control for Members?
An Admin can manage a variety of protection settings for Members, including:
Setting a group-wide Level of Protection (Off, Basic or Max).
Managing a shared Family group block list for everyone.
Enabling notifications for when a member is on a potential fraud call.
Remotely ending a live fraud call on a member's behalf.
I’m a Member, how do I know what settings the Admin has set for me?
You can view the protection settings applied to you by tapping the “Check my protection” button in your Family Group Centre. This configuration screen is "read-only" for members, so you can see the rules set by your Admin but cannot change them. You can still manage your own separate, private block list.
What information is shared within the group?
To enable the protection and connection features, the following information is shared among participants after they have given consent:
Your Truecaller app's configuration status (e.g., if permissions are enabled).
Your real-time activity (e.g., walking, driving), battery level. (Android only).
Your phone sounds settings (e.g., silent mode, ring mode) (Android only).
What information is shared with the Admin?
Potential fraud calls that you make or receive (Android only) are shared live with the Admin(s) of the group to enable the Admin to remotely end a fraud call in real-time.
Note This information is only available for the Admin of the Family Group and not visible for other Members.
As a Member, what can the Admin NOT see or do?
Admins cannot see your personal information like your call history for non-spam calls, read your SMS or instant messages, or see your location. The data shared is strictly limited to what is necessary for the protection and status features to function, as outlined in the privacy overview during the invite process.
Remote Call Ending
What is the "Remote Call Ending" feature?
This is a core safety tool designed to protect family members from harm during a live potential fraud call. If an Admin sees a Member talking to a known scammer, they can remotely intervene and end the call to prevent the Member from getting scammed.
How does it work?
When a Member is on an active call with a number Truecaller identifies as a potential scammer, the Admin(s) receive a notification.
From this notification, the Admin can choose to immediately end the call.
If the Admin ends the call, the Member is instantly notified on their device, explaining that the call was ended by their Admin because it was a potential fraud.
This feature works for Android members even if Truecaller is not set as their default dialer app.
As a Member, can I turn this feature off for myself?
A Member gives consent for this feature when they agree to join the Family Group. The feature cannot be disabled by an individual Member. The control for this feature lies with the Admin, who manages the protection for the entire group. If you do not want this feature to be active, you have a few options:
You can leave the Family Group at any time.
You can discuss it with your Admin and ask them to disable the feature for the Admin.
An Admin can promote you to an Admin role, as this feature only applies to Members.
As an Admin, can I turn this feature off?
Yes. In the Family Protection settings, there is a toggle that allows you to enable or disable the notifications for potential fraud calls. If you turn this off, you will no longer receive live alerts and will not be able to remotely end calls for your Members.
Does this feature cost anything?
No. The ability for an Admin to remotely end a Member's fraud call is a core safety feature and is available for free to all Family Protection users.
Premium & Billing
Is Family Protection a free feature?
Yes, the ability to create a Family Group, set basic protection, and remotely end member’s fraud calls is free for all users. Advanced features, such as the ability to set the maximum protection level, and to enable granular block settings require a Premium Family subscription.
I already have a Truecaller Premium Family plan. What changes for me?
Your existing plan will be migrated to the new Family Protection experience. Members of your plan will become "Pending Participants" and will be invited to join your new Family Group. Until they accept, they will keep their standard Premium benefits but will not have access to the new Family Protection features.
Permissions & Settings
Why does Family Protection show these permission warnings?
To get the best protection from Truecaller, certain permissions and settings need to be enabled. Family Protection gives your Admin visibility into these settings so they can help ensure your app is configured for maximum safety. Here’s a simple breakdown of what each setting does and why it's important.
Caller ID not enabled (for iOS)
What it is: This refers to Apple's CallKit framework.
Why it's needed: This is essential for Truecaller to identify and block incoming calls on your iPhone. Without it, Truecaller's core Caller ID and spam blocking simply won't work.
Notification access missing
What it is: A setting that allows Truecaller to interact with system notifications.
Why it's needed: This permission is required for advanced Family Protection features, such as the Admin's ability to remotely end a suspicious call on your behalf. Other Truecaller functions also depend on this access to work correctly.
Truecaller not set as default Caller ID app (for Android)
What it is: The Android setting that makes Truecaller the primary app for caller ID and spam detection.
Why it's needed: For Truecaller's caller ID and spam protection to function on Android seamlessly, the app must be set as the default "Caller ID & spam app".
Permission to display over other apps (for Android)
What it is: An Android permission that allows one app to draw on top of another.
Why it's needed: This is fundamental to Caller ID. It allows Truecaller to show you who is calling by displaying the Caller ID screen on top of whatever else you are doing on your phone. Without it, the Caller ID cannot appear.
App Not Installed or Outdated / Outdated OS Version
What it is: A Member has not installed Truecaller, is using an old version of the app, or an old version of their phone's operating system.
Why it's needed: Family Protection uses modern security features that are only available in recent app and OS versions. Updating ensures all protection features work correctly and you have the latest security patches.
Battery Optimization is On (for Android)
What it is: A phone setting that automatically closes apps running in the background to save power.
Why it's needed: If Android shuts down Truecaller in the background, live fraud alerts cannot be sent to your Admin when you are on a dangerous call. Disabling this for Truecaller ensures the "safety net" is always active.
Activity Permission Missing (for Android)
What it is: This is Android's “Physical Activity” permission. It allows your phone's operating system, managed by Google, to recognize general activities like walking or driving.
Why it's needed: This is a connection feature designed for peace of mind. Truecaller uses this permission to receive your current activity status from your phone and share it with your Family Group (e.g., showing them you are "Driving"). This data is never shared outside your group.
Availability is Off
What it is: A Truecaller setting that indicates if you're currently on a call & “ring/silent” mode.
Why it's needed: This lets your Admin see your call status. This helps them know if you're busy or available, and it provides context for other Family Protection features. It also shows your phone's “ring/silent” status.
Troubleshooting
Why can't I invite someone to my group?
An invite can fail for a few reasons. The most common are that the person you're inviting is already in another Family Group, is in a different region (e.g., EU vs. Non-EU), or the phone number may be invalid.
I accidentally rejected an invite. Can I be invited again?
Yes. However, to prevent spam, our system has throttling rules. Depending on how many times an invite has been rejected, there may be a cooldown period before an Admin can send you a new invitation. Please coordinate with your Family Admin or reach out to customer support.
Does Family Protection work the same on iPhone and Android?
An Admin on either iOS or Android can manage their group. However, the protection features available to a Member depend heavily on their operating system due to platform limitations. Most active protection features, like live fraud call alerts and remote hang-up, are only available for Android Members. The app will clearly indicate which settings apply to which OS.
Why is Family Protection not available in my country?
At present, Family Protection is available only in a select few countries. It will be rolled out globally soon.