Truecaller launches voice-based app Open Doors

By Chisom Nwatu.

Truecaller, world’s leading global communications platform, on Wednesday announced the launch of its brand new app for safe, secure and private audio conversations called Open Doors.

The app, the firm said, is a labour of love, built over many months by a dedicated international team.

After building Truecaller that safeguards people in their digital lives, and the free app Guardians for personal safety, the Swedish company founded in 2009 is now setting sights on a new target: enabling fun, impromptu, global private conversations.

This new app, Open Doors, will be completely free to use and available globally on the Google Play Store & Apple App Store. The app works seamlessly across both smartphone platforms, the company said.

Nami Zarringhalam, co-founder of True Software Scandinavia AB, owners of Truecaller, said 13 years in the business has given them a great deal of time to learn about how people communicate.

“Our new app Open Doors was born out of a simple question – how can we help people make new connections without being intrusive? And this is what we want to do: to bridge the world using the most natural form of communication, our voices,” Zarringhalam said.

Open Doors has a simple onboarding process as well as some amazing features, which include the ability to sign in with just one tap if you are already a Truecaller user. If you’re not a Truecaller user, your phone number will be verified using a missed call or OTP.

The app needs only two permissions: contacts (so that you can share Open Doors, or connect with people in your contacts who also have Open Doors) and phone permission (needed to have audio conversations). Participants in a conversation cannot see each other’s phone number.

As a user of Open Doors, you are in complete control at all times. You can start a conversation and leave at will. Your friends can join conversations when they get a notification or by clicking on a link you share.

At launch, the app interface will be available in English, Hindi, Spanish, Latin and French, with more languages to be added later on user demand.

Once your friend joins the conversation, their friends will be invited too. You can be joined by a large number of people very soon through the network effect. Do bear in mind that conversations are real-time and moderated by the community, just like Truecaller. They are not stored anywhere and neither can someone listen in without you knowing, the company said.

“We expect participants to foster a safe, inclusive and respectful environment during conversations,” it said.

The company said based on user feedback it would keep innovating and adding more features to Open Doors.