Keep Your Real Number Private With a Second Phone Number

Why is your phone number worth protecting?

Your mobile number has become a kind of universal ID. It links to your messaging apps, your bank's alerts, your delivery accounts, and often your account recovery options. Once it is shared widely, it is hard to take back.

Each time you give it out, on a sign-up form, a classified ad, a business card, or a website, more people and companies can reach you. Some may pass it on to others. The result can be anything from marketing texts to unwanted calls from strangers.

A second number lets you decide who gets your real one. Share the second number freely, and keep your personal line for the people and accounts that truly need it.

A second number for calls and texts

A NumberFlare cloud number is a full phone line that is not tied to your SIM card:

• Make and receive calls from any modern browser.
• Forward calls to your mobile, so you never miss anything, while callers see only the number they dialed.
• Let voicemail catch calls when you do not want to answer.
• Send and receive texts on US and Canadian numbers.

Use it for a side business, a public listing, online selling, or any situation where you would rather not hand out your personal number. US and Canadian numbers cost $6 per month or $4 per week, and you can release one when you no longer need it.

Receiving codes without giving out your real number

Many sign-ups ask for a phone number only to send a one-time code. For services where you do not want your personal number on file, NumberFlare offers two options:

• Instant OTP: a number for a single verification in 200+ countries. You pay only if the code arrives within 20 minutes; otherwise the cost is refunded automatically.
• Temp SMS: a receive-only number you keep for one month ($5), three months ($12), or six months ($18), useful for accounts you log into again.

Some services do not accept virtual numbers, and availability is shown live. Bear in mind that a service may send future codes to whatever number is on file. A Temp SMS rental only lasts for its plan term, so for accounts you depend on long-term, think carefully about which number you register.

Privacy, not evasion

Protecting your number is about controlling who can contact you. It is not about hiding from the rules of the services you use.

Please do not use NumberFlare numbers to create fake or duplicate accounts, to get back onto a platform that has banned you, or to avoid identity verification a service requires. Those uses break platform terms, and they are not permitted here.

On your own account, NumberFlare supports two-factor authentication (TOTP), and payments are covered by automatic fraud protection. You sign up with just an email address, verified with a 6-digit code.