CNAP Feature: The Indian government has taken a big step to stop spam calls and protect users’ privacy. Reliance Jio & Airtel have taken the lead by displaying the full caller ID name, even for unknown numbers, without requiring a separate app, unlike Truecaller, which has offered this feature for years.
The CNAP (Customer Name Presentation) has started testing and deploying in selected states in India. The best thing is that this new feature doesn’t require downloading a separate application on your mobile device and granting it permissions.
After CNAP was introduced, many users started uninstalling Truecaller and other related apps. They said that if this feature is already available on the phone, there is no need to install a separate app—especially one that has faced many claims of data leaks.
Goal Behind Launching CNAP Feature
The government has officially pushed this new feature to be used by all SIM card providers across India. The main goal is to reduce spam calls. Many users reported getting too many promotional and spam calls from unknown numbers, which wasted their valuable time. There were also some cybersecurity issues linked to unknown numbers over the past few years.
To address these problems, the government focused on better privacy and introduced the CNAP feature. It shows the caller ID name registered with the SIM, so even if the number is not saved on your phone, you can see the real caller’s name and avoid spam calls.
Also, before this feature was introduced, there were many services that did the same job, like Truecaller. Despite facing many claims of data breaches and leaks, more than 250 million users still use it to protect themselves from spam calls from unknown numbers.
Not only that, when installing the Truecaller app, users have to give many permissions. This can also be a way for personal data and documents to be exposed. But the new CNAP feature does not need a separate app or any extra permissions.
How CNAP Feature Exposed Real Names
According to reports by Telecaom Talk, the CNAP feature uses the name given when users register their SIM cards and complete the KYC process. This reduces errors because KYC is widely used in India to correct and improve original records with verified data. CNAP shows only the KYC-verified name when displaying the caller ID for unknown numbers.
Will CNAP hurt TruCaller Service in India?
The CNAP feature uses the core function of Truecaller, which will likely affect Truecaller’s services in India. However, Truecaller is known for its many extra features beyond showing caller ID names. These include spam and scam blocking, the Truecaller AI assistant, SMS intelligence, silent call recording, data backup, and profile view alerts.
So, Truecaller will definitely lose some users, but it will not disappear because it still offers many features. However, call recording, SMS intelligence, and AI assistants are already available as built-in features on many smartphones. Until these features are available for all users, Truecaller will continue to remain relevant.
