Frequently asked questions
Short, honest answers about Realcaller. Where something does not exist yet, the answer says so.
Getting Realcaller
Is Realcaller on Google Play?
Not yet. Realcaller is in development, it is not on Google Play, and there is no public beta. You can join the waitlist and we will email you when testing opens.
Which phones does it work on?
Android phones. The app installs on Android 9 and newer. Automatic call screening needs Android 10 or newer and a SIM. On a phone without that, the app says so, and number search still works.
Does it work on iPhone?
No. It is Android only for now. An iPhone version is planned for after the Android launch, and there is no date.
How much does it cost?
No price has been announced. The app has no ads and no in-app purchases, and you do not need an account to use it.
Which languages does it speak?
English and Spanish, all the way through: the app, the cards and the reasons. The Spanish is written for Mexico and Latin America, using “tú”. On Android 13 and newer you can pick the app’s language in the phone’s settings.
Privacy
Does Realcaller upload my contacts?
No. If you allow contacts access, the app reads your contacts on the phone so their calls pass without a card and their names show in the app. They are never uploaded, stored or logged.
Does it send the caller’s number?
Sometimes, yes. If your phone already has an answer (your contacts, your own lists, the phone’s memory or the offline list), nothing is sent. If it has no answer, the caller’s full number goes to Realcaller’s server for a live check, over HTTPS, together with your SIM’s country and without a device ID.
A number the server does not know is kept for 30 days. A number you search by hand is sent the same way. The privacy page lists everything that leaves the phone.
What does the app never touch?
It does not ask for access to your call log, your text messages, your location or your microphone. It keeps its own history of the calls it screened (up to 500) on the phone, and that history is left out of Android’s cloud backup.
Does it have ads or trackers?
No. The app contains no advertising, analytics or crash-reporting code from other companies.
What is the random device ID?
A random code the phone makes for itself the first time the app runs. It is sent only when you submit a report or tap Spam or Not spam on a card, and the server links it to those reports. There is no account and no name behind it. Clearing the app’s data or reinstalling makes a new one.
How it decides
How does it decide a number is spam?
Every number gets a score from 0 to 1. About half of it comes from how many reports the number has, a fifth from how much the source is trusted, a fifth from how recent the reports are, and a tenth from whether the number’s home country matches your SIM’s. A score of 0.70 or more is “Known spam”, 0.40 or more is “Suspicious”, and anything lower is “Low risk”. The formula is locked, and changing it needs a special review.
The card also says why, for example “Flagged by FTC”. See the reasons a card can show.
Why does it say low risk for a number I know is spam?
Because “low risk” means the app has little or nothing on that number, not that the number is safe. The usual causes:
- It is a new number with no reports. The card then says it has no reports yet. All the data today is from the United States, so a Mexican number has none until people report it.
- It has only a report or two. One report from a new phone gives a score of about 0.38, which is still low risk.
- The phone answered from its offline list. That list leaves out the country-match part of the score, so the same number can read Suspicious on a live check and Low risk from the list.
If you know it is spam, report it. That is how the data improves.
What does “not checked in time” mean?
The phone could not get an answer fast enough, so the card says “Unknown caller, not checked”. The server call is cut off at 550 milliseconds and the whole decision at 580, because the check has to finish while the call comes in. A weak signal, being offline or a server error all end this way. The call still goes through, and you can report the number or search it later.
Where does the data come from?
Today: complaint data from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 813,371 numbers as of October 7, 2026, refreshed every week. There were no reports from Realcaller users yet on that date. The data page has the details.
Why did a call get no card?
There are three common reasons. The caller is in your contacts and you allowed contacts access, which is by design. Notifications are off, and cards are notifications. Or the call-screening role is not switched on. The help page walks through each.
Blocking and reporting
Does it block calls automatically?
Only if you turn it on. Blocking is off by default. In Settings you can choose to block known spam, or known spam plus suspicious numbers. A blocked call never rings, but you still get a card, and the call still shows in your phone’s call log.
How do I report a number?
Reporting takes two deliberate steps. First you pick what kind of call it was (Robocall, Telemarketer, Scam, Phishing, or Other with a short description). Then you confirm with a message like “Submit report for ***0142 as Scam?”. You can start a report from a card, from the number search or from your call history.
Does my report warn other people right away?
Partly. A report raises the number’s score on live checks at once. It reaches other phones’ offline lists once a second phone reports the same number. Each phone can report a number once per day and up to 10 numbers a day.
What do the Spam and Not spam buttons on a card do?
Spam sends feedback only. It does not file a report and does not block the number. Not spam sends feedback and also adds the number to your allowed list, so it is never checked or auto-blocked again. You can remove it from Settings, under Allowed numbers.
Mexico and the United States
Does Realcaller work in Mexico?
The app does, in Spanish: you can search any number and screen calls. The data is the limit. There is no Mexican data yet, so a Mexican phone gets the most-reported US numbers in its offline list, and Mexican coverage will grow only from reports by Realcaller users. See the Mexico page.
Does it replace REPEP or the US Do Not Call Registry?
No, they do different jobs. Those registries are lists you join to ask honest companies to stop selling to you. The US registry does not block calls, and Mexico’s REPEP covers only advertising calls and texts. Realcaller checks numbers when they call, including ones those lists do not cover. Use both if you can. See the US page and the guides.
How many US numbers does it know?
813,371, from FTC and FCC complaints, as of October 7, 2026. About 259,500 of them have a base score of 0.40 or higher.
Still have a question?
Realcaller is in development and not on Google Play yet. Leave your email and country to join the waitlist, and we will use them only for that.