Truecaller Offers Number Unlisting After Nigerian Privacy Case Dismissal

Truecaller has said Nigerians who do not use its caller-identification service can remove their phone numbers and associated caller identities from the company’s active searchable database.

The announcement followed a Lagos State High Court decision dismissing a privacy case brought by non-users of the platform. The applicants had challenged Truecaller’s collection, storage and disclosure of phone numbers belonging to people who had not signed up for the service.

Court rejects implied-consent argument

The applicants, including the Incorporated Trustees of the Data Privacy Lawyers Association, argued that the processing of non-users’ information breached privacy protections under Section 37 of Nigeria’s Constitution and Part V, Sections 34 to 38, of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.

They sought orders preventing Truecaller from processing non-user data, requiring the deletion of information already held and awarding ₦300 million in general and exemplary damages.

The court dismissed their injury claims and rejected requests for prohibitory and mandatory injunctions, as well as damages. However, it found that consent given by a Truecaller user to upload contacts was not, by itself, enough to establish implied consent from people whose details appeared in those contacts.

“The user of the app voluntarily consented to the upload of contact details on the user’s phone to the respondent is insufficient to establish implied consent,” the court said.

The court also stated that reliance on legitimate interest is limited where it overrides the fundamental rights, freedoms and interests of the person whose data is being processed. The case therefore distinguished between whether consent had been established and whether the applicants had proved an actionable injury or constitutional breach.

Unlisting portal available to non-users

Truecaller said its unlisting portal is available to everyone, including people who do not use the service. Users can visit truecaller.com/unlisting to request the removal of their number.

“Anyone, whether or not they use Truecaller, can remove their number from our service at any time through our unlisting page,” a company spokesperson said.

Truecaller said that after a number is unlisted, it retains a one-way, non-reversible cryptographic hash. According to the company, this is intended to prevent a deleted number from being accidentally uploaded again.

The company also said caller identification and spam detection help protect Nigerians from scams, fraud and harassment. It argued in court that consent was not its only legal basis for processing information, citing public-interest and legitimate-interest provisions under Section 25 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, as well as a public-safety exception in Section 45 of the Constitution.

Truecaller further argued that its search function operates as a number-for-name system and does not expose private contact details to unknown third parties. It said contact information is not automatically uploaded from users’ address books, but may be uploaded when an optional Enhanced Search feature is activated in certain non-store versions of the app and the user confirms authorisation to share contacts.

Appeal planned

Olumide Babalola, who represented the applicants, said they plan to appeal the court’s treatment of injury arising from privacy violations. He said the dismissal should not be viewed as a complete endorsement of Truecaller’s consent model.

Babalola said the applicants had not attached evidence of damages, but maintained that this did not remove the court’s findings concerning consent and legitimate interest.

Truecaller said it will not suspend or redesign its Nigerian service as a result of the decision. The company added that it remains committed to engaging on data-protection issues and complying with the Nigeria Data Protection Act.