Google Voice reviews

Google Voice is rated 4.3 on the App Store, and its newest reviews are about the ID check.

The ratings people check, linked and dated, and the points that keep coming up in what users write.

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The short answer

Google Voice is rated 4.3 from 61,972 ratings on the App Store and 4.2 from 372,000 reviews on Google Play.
Users like that it is free and rings every device; the newest complaints are about the government ID check.
ExpressNumber asks for no ID: you verify your phone with one text and your number starts forwarding.

This is how Google Voice is rated.

Each score links to its source, read October 9, 2026.

App Store4.3 / 561,972 ratings Google Play4.2 / 5372,000 reviews Trustpilot2.8 / 59 reviews

Users keep making the same few points.

Summed up in our words, with a link to where each point is made.

What people like

It is free with no ads, and many users have kept the same number for years.
Google Voice on Google Play
One number rings every device you link, including over Wi-Fi when you travel.
Google Voice on Google Play
It works well as a separate number for rentals, a side business or privacy.
Google Voice on Google Play

What people complain about

New numbers now need a government ID upload before they can call or text, and many reviewers quit over it.
Google Voice on Google Play Google Voice Help: verify your identity
On ExpressNumber: No ID upload. You verify the phone you want calls sent to with one text.
People get stuck in verification loops or cannot get a number at all.
Google Voice on Google Play
On ExpressNumber: You pick a number in the browser and it starts forwarding as soon as your phone is verified.
Reviewers say there is no human to talk to when something breaks.
Google Voice on Trustpilot

There is no ID upload on ExpressNumber.

You verify your phone with one text.
Your new number starts forwarding right away.
Burn it in one tap if it starts ringing.

Try it free for 7 days

9:41

New number

Your new number

(415) 555-0142

Verified by text, no ID

Calls and texts go to

Your phone

Forwarding

These are the questions people ask first.

For one free personal number, most users think so: it is rated 4.3 on the App Store and 4.2 on Google Play. The newest reviews are less happy, mostly about the government ID check Google added for new numbers in January 2026.

Since January 2026, Google requires a government ID before a new Google Voice number can call or text, and ties it to an FCC rule on knowing who uses a phone line. ExpressNumber numbers are receive-only and ask for no ID.

Yes. Google can reclaim a number after 3 months without calls or texts, and you then have 45 days to get it back. An ExpressNumber number stays yours for as long as your plan is active.

Every fact on this page comes from these pages.

Read October 9, 2026. Prices move: if something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.

Try it for a week. Judge it yourself.

Hand out a number you can burn. Keep the one your family calls.