People get a real US number, and you keep yours.
Every number is a real US line from a licensed carrier, so calls and texts reach it like any other number. Whoever has the alias never learns the number you answer on.
A phone number alias, like an email alias
Get an anonymous phone number to give out instead of your own.
A phone number alias, like an email alias. A real US number that rings the mobile you already carry, so the people you give it to never get yours.
$0 todayLive in about a minute
Getting an anonymous phone number here takes about a minute. You pick an area code, give the number a name, and from then on every call to it rings the mobile you already carry.
It works like an email alias. You would not give your main inbox to every shop that asks, so you give out an address that forwards to it and drop that address when the mail turns bad. A phone number alias does the same for calls and texts: strangers get the alias, and you keep your own.
Phone number masking sounds technical, but the idea is small. The number people see is not the number you answer on. It is a private phone number that belongs to your account alone, and one tap burns it when you are done.
A phone number alias
Strangers get the alias. You keep the number your family calls.
What the other person gets
MarketplaceA real US number, named by you
(415) 555-0162
They call or text itLike any other US number
Rings
What stays yours
Your own numberNever shown to the caller
(•••) •••-••••
Your mobile ringsLike any other call
An anonymous phone number is a real number that stands in for yours.
Anonymous has one exact meaning here: private from the people you give the number to.
Calls ring your mobile and your own number is never shown.
Calls forward to the US or Canada mobile you confirmed and ring like any other call. There is no app to install, and the caller never sees your own number.
Texts to the alias wait in a private inbox, not on your phone.
They appear in your inbox in the browser, on any device, under the name you gave the alias. Nothing about them is sent to your own number.
One tap burns the alias for good.
When a number starts attracting spam, burn it. Calls and texts to it stop at once, and it rests 30 days before it can go to anyone else. The number you carry never had to change.
How to get an anonymous phone number in four steps.
Pick it, name it, confirm your mobile once, and give it out.
- 1
Pick an area code.
Choose an area code that looks local to wherever the alias is going.
- 2
Name the alias after where it goes.
Marketplace, Dating, Contractor quote. When the spam starts, the name tells you who passed it on.
- 3
Confirm your mobile with one text.
From a US or Canada mobile, text START and the 4-digit code we show you to your new number. You do it once for each phone.
- 4
Give out the alias and answer as usual.
Calls ring your mobile like any other call, and texts land in your inbox in seconds. Your own number stays with you.
The same idea, for your phone
A phone number alias does for calls what an email alias does for mail.
Email
You give out
dealer-7@example.comAn email aliasIt forwards to
Your real inboxYou read it thereWhen it turns
Delete the aliasYour address never changedPhone
You give out
(415) 555-0162A phone number aliasIt forwards to
Your mobileIt rings like any other callWhen it turns
Burn the aliasYour number never changedThese are the places people give out an alias instead of their number.
Any time someone you do not know yet asks for your number.
Marketplace buyers call the alias instead of you.
Buyers ring the alias, not your family line. When the item is gone, burn the number and the calls stop. More in a number for Facebook Marketplace.
A date gets an alias until you know them better.
Share the alias when it is time to talk, and block or burn it if the chat goes nowhere. More in a phone number for dating.
Contractors and quote forms get an alias you can burn.
Three bids can mean months of follow-up calls. Give each one its own alias and burn the ones you do not hire.
Landlords and leasing offices never get your family line.
Applications, viewings and repair desks all want a number. Give them a private phone number that you can end when the lease does.
Coupon and contest forms get an alias too.
If a form sells the number on, its name tells you which alias to burn, and nothing else you use is touched.
A courier can call without learning your number.
Deliveries, pickups and repairs only need a number for a day. Burn it when the job is done.
Your aliases
Name each alias after where it went, and burn the one that goes bad.
Marketplace(415) 555-0162
Forwarding
Dating(510) 555-0171
Texts only
Contractor quote(650) 555-0184
Forwarding
Car dealer(415) 555-0193
Burned
This is what the FTC and the FCC say about sharing your number.
Read October 25, 2026, with a link to each page.
The FTC says a site that asks for your number may sell it.
A September 30, 2025 consumer alert says that if you share your info with websites offering coupons, sweepstakes, or quotes for products like insurance or warranties, the site owners might collect and sell it to different telemarketers. Its first tip is to protect your personal information, and to search the site’s name plus “complaint,” “review,” or “scam” before you enter it.
FTC Consumer Alert: When sharing your info online leads to unwanted and unlawful telemarketing callsThe FTC says not to give personal details in answer to a request you did not expect.
Its page on avoiding scams says honest organizations will not call, email, or text to ask for your personal information, like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
FTC Consumer Advice: How To Avoid a ScamThe FCC says the number on a caller ID can be faked.
Its guide says spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information sent to your caller ID display to disguise their identity, and that scammers often make a call look local so you will answer.
FCC Consumer Guide: Caller ID Spoofing
Try it free for 7 days.
Basic includes 5 numbers, one alias for each place you hand a number out. Pro includes 100.
Basic
7 days free$9.99/mo
- 5 numbers, one for each site, store or dealer
- 100 forwarded minutes a month
- Burn a number in one tap
- Extra numbers $1 a month each
Pro
7 days free$29.99/mo
- 100 numbers
- 1,000 forwarded minutes a month
- A number per vendor, client or listing
- Extra numbers 50¢ a month each
$0 today. Monthly plans, cancel any time.
Common questions
More in the full FAQ.
An anonymous phone number is a real number you give out in place of your own, so the people who have it never learn yours. With ExpressNumber it is a US line that forwards calls to your US or Canada mobile and keeps texts in a private inbox in your browser.
Phone number masking means people see one number while you answer on another. Here the number you hand out is a real US line that rings your mobile, and your own number is never shown to the caller. There is no app and no second phone.
Yes. A private phone number here lives on the carrier network instead of on a SIM, so calls ring the phone you already have and texts wait in your inbox. Nothing to install and nothing new to carry.
It is the same idea. An email alias is an address you give out that forwards to your real inbox and that you can delete. A phone number alias is a number you give out that forwards to your real phone and that you can burn. The difference is that people can call it and text it, and you read the texts in your inbox.
No, and it is not meant to. The number is private from the people you give it to. Each number belongs to an account tied to your email and to the mobile you confirmed, and every call and text travels over a carrier’s network, so none of it is hidden from the law, the carrier or us.
You can try one free for 7 days and pay $0 today. After the trial, Basic is $9.99 a month and includes 5 numbers, enough for 5 aliases at once.
It is where your calls ring, so it has to be a real mobile that answers. You confirm it once: from that mobile, text START and the 4-digit code we show you to your new number. It is never shown to anyone who calls you, and one account per real mobile keeps the numbers clean for everyone.
Yes. Every number has three modes: Forward rings your phone and lets texts in, Texts only stops calls and keeps the texts coming, and Block stops both. You change the mode from your dashboard.
Yes. Giving a site or a store a number you control instead of your personal line is legal, the same way a second email address is. What is not allowed: fraud, impersonation, harassment, or getting around an identity check that exists by law. Do any of that and the account is closed.
No. Your numbers are receive-only: they take calls and texts, and they never make them. You answer calls on your own phone, and you cannot reply to a text from the inbox.
Forwarding stops immediately, so calls and texts to that number stop reaching you. The number then rests for 30 days before it can go back into circulation, so nobody inherits your spam. Burning is permanent: you cannot get that number back. Your message history stays in your inbox.
Keep reading
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Get your anonymous number in about a minute.
A real US number to give out in place of yours, ringing the phone you already carry.
Try it free for 7 days