How to Hide Your Phone Number on Android and IPhone
When you call someone, you usually want them to know who you are. Usually. On the other hand, there are times when you may need to hide your phone number from the person on the other end of the conversation. Whether you’re using Android or iPhone, you can easily hide your number using one of three options.
Please note that some carriers may remove your ability to block your caller ID, requiring you to block your number directly through them. But at the hardware level, the basic steps vary depending on your device.
How to hide your number on iOS
To block your phone number on iPhone, follow these steps.
First, go to Settings.
Select Phone and then Show My Caller ID .
A new list of options will open. Find and turn off the “Show my caller ID” switch.
How to hide your number on Android
On Android, the names of specific settings may vary depending on what version of Android you’re using and what brand of smartphone you’re using. However, the basic steps should remain the same.
First, open the Phone app menu by tapping on the top right corner.
Tap Settings and then look for the Calls or Calling Accounts option.
Now, depending on your phone, you will need to do one of two things. If you’re using a Pixel device, tap the SIM card for which you want to manage caller ID, then tap More settings .
Now click on “Caller ID” and change it to “Hide Number” in the list that appears in the pop-up window. Keep in mind that you must have an active SIM card on your Pixel device to manage Caller ID.
On other Android devices, select Advanced Services (called Advanced Settings on some devices) from the Calls or Calling Accounts menu.
You should now see the Show your Caller ID option. Switch it to Never to block your name and number from phone calls.
Block your number using the star code
This method has been around for several decades. Depending on where you live, you may be able to press *67 on your phone’s keypad before entering the phone number you want to hide your number from. When the other end receives your call, you will appear as “Unknown Number” or “Unknown Caller”. This method is especially useful for checking if someone has blocked your phone number, since it bypasses the block and allows you to contact that person anyway.
However, if you are in the UK or Ireland, you must enter 141 instead of *67 before the phone number.
Hide your phone number through your carrier
This method is the most difficult and requires contacting your telecom operator directly. Carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile will allow you to hide your number by simply calling customer service and asking them to enable the blocking setting on their system. They may ask why you want to hide your number, so come up with a reason before calling them.
If you have phone service through Verizon, you can hide your phone number and caller ID by finding the Block Services setting on the Verizon website or MyVerizon app. My Verizon is available on Android and iOS , so you can easily manage your caller ID blocking features wherever you are.
Alternatively, if you ever need to have your phone number displayed when using this particular method, you can always dial *82 before dialing the phone number you want to call, which will result in your caller ID being displayed instead of “Unknown” caller.”
Unfortunately, you cannot block your number for everyone. Some organizations, businesses and emergency services will still be able to see your phone number and name. If you want complete anonymity, you can always use calling apps like Google Voice or Burner.
Even if you hide your number, spammers will still be able to find out your numbers. I also recommend learning how to block annoying spam calls on Android to reduce the number of random calls you may receive throughout the day.