Sometimes, I cannot find new contacts that I add to the Truecaller phonebook, but sometimes, I think if it shares/leaks my contacts to the public. It shows other people's contact details that I never added there. So I am thinking if it is doing the same to me.
Android: 7.1.1
Phone: Oneplus 3T
Yes it does. When using the Truecaller application or services, you have already accepted their privacy policy:
So, in this case, you agree that:
Truecaller may use your personal information collected by their application to provide, maintain, improve, analyze and personalize their Services for other Users, partners and third party providers.
More specifically, Truecaller may use such information to provide names of contacts from your address book to other Trucaller users.
Precisely. In fact, there is a plethora of evidence suggesting true caller is a privacy invader.
Just as Izzy mentioned, it's clear that the phonebook databases are uploaded to their servers even without consent from the users whose data end up leaking into their servers.
Truecaller uses "crowd-sourcing" to get data to their servers. In this article by Shaik Sharoz, the author explains the logic behind crowd sourcing:
The thing happens in this Crowd sourcing is they collect the data from you and shows to you in return. Suppose When a user installs the true caller app in his\her mobile, After installing it all the contacts which are present in the users mobile will sync with the servers of True caller app.
Consequently,
This brings out a privacy issue that your name is appearing in the search results to others very openly without permission.
