You have a missed call from an unknown number, which can be frustrating if you’re unsure whether to call back. Services like Truecaller help with this, and now Google is jumping into the ‘unknown number lookup’ game within its phone app.
An option to do just that, labelled “Lookup,” is now available in the Google Phone app’s beta version 127.0.620688474.
When you tap “Search,” you’ll get a list of apps on your device that can handle the ‘Web Search’ intent, with the Google app being one of them. Choosing the Google app will initiate a search for the number in question, a task that could also be done manually by copying and pasting the number into a Google Search.
The main purpose of this feature seems to be identifying businesses that Google has indexed, who may have called you. However, it will not be able to identify private individuals. Therefore, apps like Truecaller will still have their place even with this new feature.
In theory, Truecaller and similar apps could integrate themselves into this system, allowing for a quick lookup in their databases as soon as you hit that “Lookup” button, adding extra convenience.
This feature has been live in Japan since March and is expected to roll out worldwide in June.