Have you ever wanted to make a phone call but suspected it might be a bit too personal? Perhaps you wanted to ask a friend about something without revealing your number or a job interview for which you wished to remain anonymous. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to mask your caller ID: hiding your number during calls.
If you’ve been wanting to give it a shot, then today is your lucky day! In this article, I’ll discuss the various ways in which you can hide your phone number while calling—and even when texting or sending emails. Whether you’re looking to protect yourself against telemarketers and scammers, maintain anonymity in certain conversations, or simply don’t want to be bothered with calls when the mood strikes—follow my tips and say goodbye to invading caller IDs.
What Is Call Masking?
If you don’t want people you reach out to know your real number, call masking is the perfect tool for you. Call masking allows you to hide your number when making a call, so the other person will not be able to see it. It’s like using a burner phone for voice calls — a great way to maintain anonymity or privacy.
Call masking is also extremely useful if you’re out of the office, working from home, or even overseas and calling back home. You can keep your personal number private, while still staying in touch with the people you need to talk to. This service is available through many mobile apps and services, and it’s simple and easy to set up.
Having call masking available allows you greater control over your privacy — no more wondering if the person on the other side of the line knows your true identity. And if calling someone that needs verification of caller ID information, most services provide its own private number which will display on caller ID boxes.
How to Use a Special Service to Hide Your Number
It’s not always convenient to give out your phone number when you’re making a call. Luckily, you can use a special service to hide your number. These services use their own numbers to disguise yours and protect your privacy.
Here are the main steps for using a service to hide your phone number:
- Find a number hiding service provider and sign up for the service.
- Get a temporary phone number from the provider, or look into local access numbers if available in your area.
- Set up the call-forwarding feature with your old carrier, so all calls will go through the new, temporary phone number provided by the provider.
- Use the assigned temporary number to dial out from your own telephone line and make an anonymous call.
Using a special service to hide your number is easy and secure, just make sure that you closely follow their instructions when setting up the call-forwarding feature in order for it to work properly.
Make Use of Invisible Numbers
Hiding your number during a call is easy if you use an invisible number. These invisible numbers are a great way to remain anonymous, as the person on the other end won’t be able to trace it back to you.
The good news is that this isn’t complicated—all you need to do is use a VoIP call service. VoIP stands for “Voice over Internet Protocol” and works by routing calls through the internet rather than relying on public switched telephone networks (PTSN).
It’s easy to set up and use, here’s how:
- Download the app of your choice, most of them are free.
- Log in or create an account with that app.
- Choose an invisible number and make sure it’s active.
- Now you’re ready to make calls! Every time you dial out, no one will see your real phone number appear on their caller ID.
Utilizing Call Forwarding
Call forwarding is a great way to hide your number during calls, and it’s really quite easy. All you need to do is set up a call forwarding service with your phone provider, which allows you to forward any incoming calls to another number. That way, when someone calls you, the number that shows up on their caller ID is the number that’s been forwarded from yours.
Benefits of Call Forwarding
Using call forwarding has a few benefits:
- You know who’s calling before you answer—you won’t be surprised by unidentified numbers
- You can have multiple numbers for different purposes—work, personal, etc.
- You can make sure only the people you want to talk to can contact you
- You don’t have to use your own phone number—the forwarded number will appear on the caller ID
- It’s an affordable and efficient way of hiding your number while still receiving calls
Call forwarding is one of the simplest and most effective ways of hiding your number during calls—it ensures that whoever’s calling won’t know your actual number but will still reach you without issues.
Special Features Provided by Phone Companies
Do you have a phone service provider that offers special features to hide your number? Your provider might have a feature that you can use to hide your number during calls.
Mobile Apps
Some providers, such as AT&T, offer mobile apps to block Caller ID, while others, like Verizon, allow users to block Caller ID from the phone settings. If your provider has either of these options, simply download or activate the app and choose the times when you want your number to be hidden.
VoIP Blocking
If you’re using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype or Google Voice, chances are you can find instructions online on how to block Caller ID when making calls. Some services even offer built-in Caller ID blocking options—all you need to do is find the setting and adjust it accordingly.
Default Setting for Your Phone System
You may also be able to find a setting in your phone system that allows you to block Caller ID from displaying on outbound calls. To do this, check out the user manual for your system—it should explain how to access the settings and apply them correctly.
By taking advantage of these features provided by your phone service provider or VoIP system, you can easily hide your number during calls and protect your privacy.
Call Blocking Apps
For more advanced tools to hide your number during calls, there are call blocking apps available for smartphones. Depending on the app you choose, you can access a variety of features that make it impossible to trace your phone number.
The must-have features of a good call blocking app include:
- The ability to make anonymous and untraceable calls, even if the person you’re calling can see your number
- An extensive blacklist of numbers so you can block incoming calls from specific numbers
- The option to create various burner phone numbers so your true identity stays hidden
- Automatic logs which save each call and its date and time stamp; this way, you can easily check back and see who called
- Free test calls so that you can make sure the app works correctly before using it for important calls
- Optional voice mail options so that if a blocked caller leaves a message, you can still listen to it without revealing your number
- Free minutes for international or long distance calls so that expensive bills don’t sneak up on you
- Support for various dialing codes so that even if the recipient is in another country, the call will go through with no issues
- Plus many other security features like encryption and encryption key storage
Call blocking apps provide an extra layer of protection to help keep your phone number private during calls—they’re must-haves for anyone looking protect their privacy!
Conclusion
Hiding your phone number during calls can be immensely helpful, but there are some things to consider. First, make sure you’re not hiding your number if you’re calling someone who needs to see it, like a business or government entity. Second, make sure to turn off any call-display functions, as they will cause your number to show up regardless of the method you use to hide it. Finally, always ensure that the person you’re calling knows how to reach you by some other means should they need to get in contact with you.
All in all, when used properly and for the right reasons, hiding your phone number during calls can help you maintain your privacy, remain anonymous, and protect yourself from unwanted callers. With a few simple steps, you can remain safe and secure while not sharing your phone number with those who don’t need to know it.