How to Make Your Phone Number Private

Your phone number is one of the most widely shared pieces of personal information you have — and one of the most exploited. It connects to your identity, your location, your financial accounts, and your online profiles. If your phone number is publicly available, you're exposed to robocalls, spam texts, identity theft, SIM-swapping attacks, and targeted phishing scams. Here's a complete guide to making your phone number private in 2026.

Why a Public Phone Number Is a Security Risk

Most people don't realize how much damage an exposed phone number can cause. When your number is publicly listed on data broker sites, social media profiles, or old online accounts, bad actors can use it to:

• Target you with robocalls and spam — Scammers scrape phone numbers from people-search sites in bulk and sell them to illegal telemarketing operations.
• Attempt SIM-swapping attacks — With your phone number and a few personal details, criminals can convince your carrier to transfer your number to their device, giving them access to your two-factor authentication codes.
• Launch phishing and smishing campaigns — Personalized text message scams become far more convincing when attackers already know your name, address, and phone number from data broker profiles.
• Stalk or harass you — An exposed phone number makes it easy for unwanted contacts to reach you directly.

How to Hide Your Caller ID

The quickest way to prevent your number from showing up when you make calls is to hide your caller ID. There are several ways to do this.

Dial *67 Before Each Call

Dialing *67 before any phone number temporarily blocks your caller ID for that specific call. The recipient will see "Private Number" or "Blocked" instead of your phone number. This works on iPhones, Android phones, and landlines in the US and Canada.

Keep in mind that *67 does not work when calling toll-free numbers (1-800, 1-888, etc.) or 911. Some people also decline calls from blocked numbers, so this method has limitations.

Block Caller ID Permanently on Your Phone

You can set your phone to hide your number on every outgoing call:

• iPhone: Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Show My Caller ID and toggle it off.
• Android: Open the Phone app > tap the three-dot menu > Settings > Calls > Additional Settings > Caller ID > select "Hide number."

Note that some carriers remove or restrict these settings. If the option is missing, contact your carrier directly.

Ask Your Carrier for Caller ID Blocking

All major US carriers — AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and others — can apply permanent caller ID blocking at the account level. Call customer service and request "line-level caller ID blocking." This is typically free, though some carriers charge a small monthly fee of $2 to $5. If you ever need to show your number for a specific call, dial *82 before the number to temporarily unblock it.

Register With the National Do Not Call Registry

The National Do Not Call Registry is a free service from the Federal Trade Commission that reduces calls from legitimate telemarketers.

• Online: Register at donotcall.gov
• By phone: Call 1-888-382-1222 from the number you want to register

Registration is permanent and telemarketers are required to stop calling within 31 days. However, the registry only stops lawful telemarketers — scammers, charities, political organizations, and survey companies are exempt or simply ignore the list. It's an essential first step, but not a complete solution on its own.

Remove Your Number From Data Broker and People-Search Sites

This is arguably the most impactful step you can take. Dozens of people-search websites — including Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified, TruePeopleSearch, and Intelius — publish your phone number alongside your name, address, and other personal details. Anyone with an internet connection can find your number in seconds.

To remove your number manually, you need to visit each site individually, locate your listing, and submit an opt-out request. The process varies by site: some require email verification, others require fax or postal mail, and many re-list your information within a few months, forcing you to repeat the process.

Use Google Voice or a Secondary Number for Public Use

One of the most effective strategies for protecting your real phone number is to stop giving it out. Instead, use a secondary number for any situation where your number might become public.

• Google Voice — Free service that gives you a separate phone number for calls, texts, and voicemail. Calls forward to your real phone, but your actual number stays hidden. You can also screen calls and block spam directly in the app.
• Burner or Hushed — Paid apps that provide disposable phone numbers you can use temporarily and then discard. Ideal for online marketplace transactions, classified ads, or any situation where you don't want to share your real number.

Use your real number only for trusted contacts — family, friends, your bank, and your employer. Use your secondary number for online shopping, sign-up forms, social media, and anything public-facing.

Adjust Your Social Media Privacy Settings

Social media platforms frequently request your phone number for account verification or security, but that doesn't mean it needs to be visible to others. Review and lock down your settings on every platform:

• Facebook: Go to Settings > Privacy > Phone Number and set it to "Only Me." Also check Settings > Privacy > "Who can look you up using the phone number you provided" and set it to "Only Me."
• Instagram: Your phone number is not publicly displayed by default, but it is stored in your account data and can be part of data breaches.
• LinkedIn: Go to Settings > Visibility > Phone Number and restrict who can see it.
• X (Twitter): Go to Settings > Privacy and Safety > Discoverability and contacts > disable "Let people who have your phone number find you."

Even with these settings enabled, your phone number may still be shared with third-party apps or advertisers through the platform's data-sharing agreements. Providing a secondary number to social media accounts adds another layer of protection.

Be Careful About What You Sign Up For

Every time you enter your phone number on a website, app, or paper form, you're potentially adding it to a database that could be sold, breached, or scraped. Reduce your exposure by following these practices:

• Skip optional phone number fields on online forms and checkout pages whenever possible.
• Read privacy policies before providing your number — look for language about sharing data with "partners" or "affiliates."
• Avoid entering your real number for contests, sweepstakes, loyalty programs, or free Wi-Fi sign-ups, as these are common data-collection tactics.
• Use your secondary number any time a phone number is required but the service doesn't need your real one.

How PrivacyOn Helps Protect Your Phone Number

Manually tracking down and removing your phone number from every data broker site is a time-consuming, never-ending task. New sites appear regularly, existing sites re-list your data from public records, and the opt-out processes are deliberately cumbersome.

PrivacyOn automates this entire process by continuously scanning and removing your phone number and other personal information from 100+ data broker and people-search sites. Once you sign up, PrivacyOn submits opt-out requests on your behalf, monitors for re-listings, and removes your data again whenever it reappears. This ongoing protection means your phone number stays private — not just for a few weeks, but permanently.

Combined with the other strategies in this guide — hiding your caller ID, registering on the Do Not Call list, using a secondary number, and tightening your social media settings — a data removal service like PrivacyOn provides the most comprehensive defense for keeping your phone number out of the wrong hands.