How to Make Your Phone Number Show as Private When You Call

This wikiHow teaches you how to make your mobile phone number private when calling someone from your smartphone. If you don't want the person you're calling to see your phone number, you can dial a code prefix before the person's phone number. If you want all your calls to be private, you can turn off caller ID on your Android or iPhone , try a VoIP service like Google Voice , or ask your mobile provider to make your calls private. Keep in mind you cannot hide your phone number when calling emergency services (911) or toll-free numbers. ^{[1]
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Making Your Mobile Phone Number Private: Quick Tips

To keep your number private when making a call, dial *67 first, followed by the phone number.
To make all outbound calls private on Android, open the Phone app, go to ⋮ > Settings > Supplementary Services > Show Caller ID, and hide your number.
On an iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Show my Caller ID & turn the feature off.

Section 1 of 6:

Using a Temporary Code

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Determine your phone's blocking code. On most phones in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, you can dial *67 before the phone number you're calling to appear as "private number." Some common blocking codes: ^{[2]
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- *67 - United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand (Vodafone)
- #31# - Australia, Albania, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany (some providers), Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Netherlands (KPN), New Zealand (2degrees), Palestine, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
- 141 - United Kingdom, Ireland
- Iceland, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, South Africa (Telkom)
- 133 - Hong Kong
- 184 - Japan
- 0197 - New Zealand (Telecom or Spark phones)
- *9# - Nepal (NTC prepaid/postpaid phones only)
- *32# - Pakistan (PTCL phones)
- *23 or *23# - South Korea
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Dial the block code before entering a phone number. Open your Android's Phone app, then enter the code that correlates with your phone, symbols included.
- Depending on your phone, you may have to tap the Dial or Keypad tab before you can dial.
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Enter the phone number. Type in the number of the person you want to call. Make sure that you include the country code/long-distance code if necessary.
- The final result should look something like this: *67 (212) 555-1212 .
Doing so will call the number as usual. Unless the other person has set up their phone to reject private calls, the call will go through, and they will not see your phone number..

Section 2 of 6:

Using an Android Phone

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The Phone app typically has an icon that resembles an old phone. Tap the app you use to place calls on your Android phone.
It's the icon in the upper-right corner. This opens the Menu. Depending on the model of your Android smartphone, this may be an icon with three dots, three lines, or a button that says "More". ^{[3]
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This opens the phone settings menu. ^{[4]
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It's near the bottom of the Settings menu. Depending on the model of your Android phone, this may read "More Settings" or "Additional Settings". On Samsung Galaxy phones, it's under "Supplementary Service." ^{[5]
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It's at the top of the More Settings menu. Depending on your Android phone model, this may read as "Show Caller ID" or "Show My Caller ID." ^{[6]
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Again, the option you see will vary by model. This easy change hides your number when you place calls from your Android phone. ^{[7]
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Section 3 of 6:

Using an iPhone

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The settings app has an icon of two gears. ^{[8]
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Scroll down and tap Apps . If you're using iOS 17 or earlier, you can skip this step.
It's next to a green icon that looks like an old phone.
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Tap Show My Caller ID . This is where you can hide your phone number when making outgoing calls. ^{[9]
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- If you don't see the option to turn off your caller ID, you can't use this method to make your number appear as a private phone number. For a workaround, jump down to Using a Temporary Code .
If the toggle switch next to "Show My Caller ID" is to the left and gray, your phone number will stay hidden from the person you are calling.

Section 4 of 6:

Asking Your Carrier To Make Your Number Private

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Dial 611 to speak with customer service. This is the number used to contact customer service for most major mobile service providers. Follow the menu options to talk to a customer service representative , and ask them to make your number private. This is an option that most mobile service providers offer free of charge.
- Once your phone number is permanently private, you can temporarily unblock your number at any time by dialing "*82" before the phone number. ^{[10]
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Section 5 of 6:

Using Google Voice

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Set up Google Voice. Google Voice is a free app that allows you to place calls using a different number from your standard mobile number. Before you use Google Voice, you need to download it from the App Store or Google Play Store . When you place your first call using the Google Voice app, you will be asked to search for and select a number to use. Follow the on-screen instructions to select a number to use with Google Voice.
- Google Voice numbers are not listed publicly. However, if you have posted your Google phone number online or given it out to other people, it may still be traceable back to you. Keep reading to learn how to make your Google Voice number private.
This three-line icon is in the upper-left corner of Google Voice.. ^{[11]
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It's next to a gear icon toward the bottom of the menu. ^{[12]
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If the toggle switch is off (gray), tap it to turn on the feature now. You can now use Google Voice to call from a different number and keep it a secret. ^{[13]
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Section 6 of 6:

Common Questions

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Does *67 still work? You can still use *67 to hide your phone number when making phone calls on most networks in the United States and Canada. This feature used to only work on landlines, but you can now use it on nearly all cellular networks in North America. In most European regions, you will need to dial #31# instead.
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Can a *67 number be traced? Yes, if the person you call knows how to trace it.
- In most cases, to trace a private number, all you will need to do is dial *69 to reveal the number of the last caller. ^{[14]
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- If the call is malicious, you can dial *57 from most phones to send the caller's phone number to your service provider. The provider will then log the caller's information. You can then contact your local law enforcement, report the time and date of the call, and they'll be able to collect the caller's information from the provider. ^{[15]
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  - This will only work if you answer the call, even if only for a second.
- Some apps, including TrueCaller, automatically reveal private and unknown phone numbers. ^{[16]
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Can you *67 a text message? There's no way to use vertical services codes like *67 and #31# when sending a text message. However, if you want to send a text message from a private number, check out our guide to sending an anonymous text .

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Tips

If you have Caller ID blocking enabled for your service and don't want to enter the unblocking prefix each time you call someone you know, add the unblocking prefix to each of the numbers in your contact list. The prefix will dial automatically when you select the person to call.

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Warnings

If the person you're calling has an app that unmasks your private phone number, they'll be able to see your real phone number.

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How to Make Your Phone Number Show as Private When You Call

Making Your Mobile Phone Number Private: Quick Tips

Steps

Using a Temporary Code

Using an Android Phone

Using an iPhone

Asking Your Carrier To Make Your Number Private

Using Google Voice

Common Questions

Video

Tips

Warnings

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References

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