Google and Truecaller unite to beat Whatsapp

Truecaller and Google Duo have come together to improve Video calling, in a bid to beat popular social media platforms such as Whatsapp which has close to 1 billion users. The Swedish based Truecaller, started as an app to identify and filter out unwanted phone calls and messages, but is now making moves to become a messaging platform.

Just as Truecaller morphs into a Messenger service, Google is also preparing to discard its text based chat forum - Google Hangouts for the more interactive Video chat forum - Google Duo.

Now, Google Duo has expanded its reach to Truecaller users by directly integrating into the app; users can now exploit both platforms simultaneously. Tech observers say that this will add a crucial communications layer that strengthens the value of Truecaller's popular dialer, caller ID, and spam blocking app already used by more than 250 million users globally.

Truecaller app has also added new messaging and SMS blocking features. Along with news of this integration, Truecaller announced a completely new redesign of the Android app at a recent press briefing in New Delhi, India where it has opened a base.

Nami Zarringhalam, Co-founder and CSO of Truecaller said: "With valuable partners like Google, we are excited to take the next step in our journey, bringing all your mobile communications under one roof and giving you the safest, most efficient, and most convenient experience possible without having to switch back and forth."

Amit Fulay, Head of Duo at Google said: "Video calling should work for everybody, regardless of what platform they are on. Our aim is to make video calling simple, fast, and available to everyone."