South Africa’s Information Regulator says it has received complaints about Truecaller and is investigating whether the caller ID app may have breached the country’s data privacy law, the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
Some of the complaints come from businesses that claim Truecaller labels their numbers as spam and then charges a steep monthly fee—$590 for 5,000 calls—to whitelist them and ensure calls reach customers.
A major concern is the app’s feature that pulls entire contact lists from users’ phones, including numbers of people who have never signed up for Truecaller.