This One Trick Will Keep Your Phone Number Off Marketing Lists

Tired of being on the receiving end of a barrage of marketing from more businesses than you can count? It seems like these days, there’s no getting away from ads, but getting texts and marketing calls directly to your phone feels like a step too far.

Rather than having to work through your existing contacts, blocking numbers and removing yourself from marketing lists, the simpler solution is to avoid ending up on these lists in the first place. But how can you do that when so many services demand your phone number if you want to sign up?

The way to get around this dilemma is to avoid using your real number when you’re creating accounts. In this article, we’re outlining how to still receive SMS verification codes without having to sacrifice your own phone number to a marketing list.

The Quick Fix to Avoid Using Your Real Number

The easiest way to stop your number from ending up in a hundred and one marketing lists is simply to stop using your personal number when you’re signing up for online services.

But how can you avoid sharing your number when you still need to receive SMS verification? The good news is that you don’t need to go off-grid or buy a second SIM for this purpose. You just need to use a free, non-VoIP temporary number that you can use to receive the code, log into your account, and be on your way.

Sites like https://www.smspool.net/ supply numbers that can receive SMS messages online, so you don’t have to enter your own personal details. The process usually looks like this:

First, visit the site of your choice and buy the number.
Copy the number and paste it into the “phone number” section when you’re signing up for a service.
Return to the website providing the number and wait for the code to arrive on your screen.

Once you’ve used the code, you’re all done, and you should be able to access the service you were creating an account for. Because you haven’t shared your number, your phone won’t get added to any marketing lists.

When Should You Use a Temporary Number?

Now you know a bit more about temporary numbers and how they work, when might you want to use one?

The scenario that’s best suited to using a temporary number for signup is when you want to do a free trial or create an account with a website with potential security issues.

Don’t use them for anything that involves two-factor authentication for accounts you care about, and keep in mind that they’re temporary numbers, so you can’t use them for a service that requires you to use the same number to verify your identity every time you log in.

Takeaway

So, there you have it: how to keep your number off marketing lists while still accessing the online services you need.

When a site asks for your number, stop to ask yourself if they really need it. If it’s just for a single code, the better solution is to use a temporary number, so you’re not disclosing any more personal data than necessary.