How to hide your number when making a call

There are times when you may want to make a call with your Android phone without revealing your phone number, this guide will show you how to hide your number on Android.

Hiding your number on your smartphone can be useful when you want to make calls without giving out your number, this article is designed to help you hide your Phone number on Android devices.

This is something that can be useful, for example, if you want to call a company to enquire about something but you do not want to give them your number, you can make the call without your phone number being revealed to the company on your Android smartphone.

How do you hide your number on Android?

There are two ways to hide your number on your Android phone, you can either do it permanently so that any outgoing calls you make do not give out your number or you can do it for each call. The settings you need to use vary slightly for each option and we have some details below on what to do for each method.

How do you hide your number permanently?

On your Android device click on the Phone icon and on the menu at the top right click Settings from the drop-down menu on your device. Then go to Calls on your handset, then Additional Settings, you will then see Caller ID, click on this and select Hide Number. You can find out more details about this feature over at Google’s website.

Once this setting has been changed any outgoing calls you make from your device will no longer show your mobile number on the other end. This is more of a permanent solution if you don’t want to give your number out when making calls. This is a useful feature if you use your personal phone for work and don’t want people to know what your phone number is.

How do I hide my number for one-off calls?

If you are in the USA then the simplest way to hide your telephone number when making a call is to add *67 to the start of your number. This will work for only the one call that you are making, to hide your number again, you will need to add *67 to the next call.

For example, if you want to call Google support in the USA, their telephone number is 1-855-836-1987, to dial this number without giving out the number you need to dial *67 1-855-836-1987. That is it, this is an easy feature to use and this works on any Android device.

If you are in the UK and want to block your number from being given out on individual calls then you need to put 141 in front of the number you are calling.  This works for the iPhone, Android, and landline calls in the UK.

We hope you will find this guide useful and we hope that it helps you make telephone calls without revealing your phone number when you need to, if you have any questions, please leave a comment below and let us know.

Whether you’re trying to hide your phone number to avoid being called back or to prevent someone from knowing it’s you that’s calling, there are quite a few ways you can block your number from being shown on someone else’s caller ID.

And, while it’s free and easy to block your number from showing up on caller ID, what about when you want to learn how to keep your phone number private while texting, too? There are numerous reasons for not wanting to give out your phone number or for wanting to hide it from others. Here’s how to hide your phone number safely.

How to Hide Your Phone Number For One Phone Call

If you’re at work and need to quickly hide your phone number to make an important call or don’t have time to download the Burner phone app, most carriers allow you to hide your number for calls and from your contacts.

The FCC has actually mandated that all carriers in the United States make it possible for users to be able to block their number from appearing on caller IDs (along with mandates protecting you from robocalls). So, to hide your number and sometimes even your name for one simple phone call you can:

  • Enter *67 before the entire number, then press the call button.
  • If you can, make a test call (to a trusted friend or coworker) before calling your contact to make sure this works.
  • If it doesn’t work, try entering #31# before typing in the phone number.
  • If it works, your number should appear as “private,” “unknown,” or “restricted.”

How to Hide Your Phone Number From Contacts

Planning on making lots of outgoing phone calls and don’t want anybody to be able to see your phone number? On iPhones and Androids, you can block your number permanently from appearing on caller ID.

For Android phones, you’ll have to perform some variation of the following steps:

  • Open the Phone app
  • Open the menu to select “Settings”
  • Click on “Calls”
  • Click on “Additional Settings”
  • Click on “Caller ID”
  • Select “Hide Number”

For iPhones, you’ll have to:

  • Open the Settings app
  • Click on “Phone”
  • Click on “Show My Caller ID”
  • Turn the option off

It’s important to note that Verizon doesn’t currently allow you to hide your phone number on an iPhone. You can, however, hide it by accessing your Verizon account via their website or the My Verizon app.

And, while the above actions are pretty easy to follow (and great for a quick fix or a quick phone call), they’re not meant to act as long-term solutions. For starters, it’s pretty clear to whoever you’re calling that you’re trying to hide your number when it pops up as “restricted” or “anonymous.” Secondly, these techniques don’t allow you to hide your phone number when texting.

Use a Burner Phone Number for Calling & Texting

Instead of simply blocking your phone number from appearing on caller ID or using the *67 technique, why not use a Burner phone number instead? Using an app like Burner, you’re able to easily sign up for a second phone number that, when called or texted, will send those calls and messages straight through to your phone like normal.

This way, your personal number stays private and nobody who is trying to contact you or vice versa knows that you’re intentionally trying to hide your number. It’s a practical, long-term solution that allows anybody, from salespeople and business owners to casual daters and freelancers to protect their privacy.

You can choose to create a Burner phone number for a one-off situation and then get a new number or you can choose the more suggested option which is to set up a Subscription Burner phone number that allows you to keep the same number to use for any situation in which you want to keep your normal number private.

Whether you’re making outgoing calls for work and want to keep your work life separate from your home life or simply don’t feel comfortable giving out your real number to that cutie you swiped on Tinder, Burner phone apps just make sense.

Does * 67 still work?

Based on our tests in April of 2022, this still works. If you dial *67 then the recipient's full ten-digit phone number, your call will ring through. The recipient's caller ID will say 'Unknown Caller' or something similar.

Does * 67 work on cell phones?

While using *67 works on smartphones, it must be entered each time you dial a number. Most cellular carriers offer a way to block your number on all outgoing calls using the Android or iOS device settings.

How do I make my call private?

From an Android phone, you can block caller ID by selecting: Menu>Settings>Call Settings>Additional Settings, then “Hide Number”

Does * 67 still work on iPhone?

And for what it's worth, *67 works to dial out anonymous calls on any iPhone, landline, Android, Blackberry, or Windows phone, it is the universal 'anonymous' prefix code.