How to hide my whatsapp account from unknown number
How to Hide Your Phone Number in WhatsApp
When you first create a WhatsApp account, you sign up using your existing phone number, which allows you to access your phone’s contact list. However, not every user is going to want to connect their phone number to WhatsApp, especially if you’re interested in chatting privately with new connections online.
So, is there any way to hide your phone number on WhatsApp?
Unfortunately, there’s no simple method for hiding your phone number from WhatsApp—you need to use a valid phone number to sign up with the service. But that doesn’t mean you have to use your real number.
Let’s take a look at how you can signup for WhatsApp without giving the app your main phone number.
How to Hide Your Phone Number in WhatsApp
As mentioned, you have to use a phone number to create a WhatsApp account. But if you want to hide your real phone number, you can use one of several online services to get a burner number to connect to your account.
Let’s take a look at the services you can use to do this.
Getting a New Phone Number
There are more than a dozen services online that you can use to get a secondary number.
Google Voice is our top pick and is perfect for our purposes. It offers personal and business services and is frequently updated on both web and mobile. Voice even allows you to use your number to forward calls, make free phone calls in the United States, and text your family and friends with ease.
Your number can be used to make and receive calls and texts. It’s a great service, especially for free, and it comes as our top recommended service for anyone looking for a new phone number to use with WhatsApp.
Like Google Voice, Talkatone makes it easy to get a free phone number. The service gives you an alternate phone number for calling and texting, complete with a US or Canada-based area code.
Talkatone even lets you change this number when you need to. Talkatone does include ads, but if you’re only using the phone number to verify your account, this shouldn’t be much of a problem.
While Voice and Talkatone are our top two picks for our purposes, if you’re looking for an app with a bit more functionality beyond simple calls and texts, or an app with the ability to create more than one number, check out these applications:
- Burner
- Sideline
- Flyp
- Hushed
For the purposes of this article, we’ll be using a number from Google Voice, along with screenshots from Voice as we set up our new WhatsApp account.
Google Voice’s setup process is fairly straightforward. You’ll need a Google account to get started, and the app and website will walk new users through picking a new number. Once you have your new Google Voice number handy, you’re ready to move onto the next step in the process.
Setting Up a New WhatsApp Account
Alright, once you’re armed with your new number from any of the services we outlined above, you’re ready to begin setting up a new WhatsApp account.
For this article, we’re using the Android version of WhatsApp.
Start by logging out of your WhatsApp account completely. Once you’ve reached the login screen for WhatsApp, WhatsApp will ask for your phone number to register your account and verify your device. Instead of entering your current phone number, enter the secondary number you created through Google Voice (or the alternative you chose).
Hit “Next,” and WhatsApp will ask you to verify your number. Make sure you entered your number correctly and hit “OK” to continue to the next step.
After this, WhatsApp will ask to view your SMS messages so it can automatically detect the verification code. While this is normally very convenient, do not allow WhatsApp to do this.
As the text is going to your Google Voice or Talkatone number and not to your device’s SMS inbox, WhatsApp won’t be able to detect the code from your phone. Instead, click “Not Now” to enter the verification code manually.
Once you receive your code, enter the six digits into the field on your device.
Next, you’ll be asked to input a name for your WhatsApp account (this can always be changed later), and once this is done, you’ll be brought to your new inbox.
Despite using your alternate number, you can still view your contacts automatically from your primary device, though keep in mind that they won’t see your name in your account unless you give them your alternate number or you start messaging them through the service.
How to Change Your WhatsApp Phone Number
If you’ve been using WhatsApp for years and don’t want to create an entirely new account, it is possible to change the number inside the settings of your WhatsApp account.
Once again, the steps below are using the Android version of the application, though iOS users should be able to follow similar steps on their own platform.
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap More options > Settings > Account > Change number.
- Enter your current account phone number in the top box.
- Enter your Google Voice number in the bottom box.
- Tap Next.
- Tap Notify Contacts if you want to tell your contacts about your number change.
- Tap DONE to save and verify the new phone number.
After following these steps, WhatsApp will update your account to include your Google Voice phone number.
Final Thoughts
While WhatsApp requires your phone number to sign up, there’s nothing to stop you from using an alternate or burner phone number to effectively “hide” your real number.
When you choose to use an alternate number on WhatsApp, you can give that number to your friends, family, and associates, while simultaneously protecting your primary phone number from people you don’t know well.
How To Hide Number on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a very secure, simple, and robust platform for online messaging and keeping in contact within your personal and professional circles.
Though you cannot hide your number from the WhatsApp system, you can hide it from your contacts to keep your privacy.
However, sometimes people are bothered that it is an online phone that shows my number. There can be various reasons why people want to know how to hide phone numbers on Android or mask phone numbers on WhatsApp.
There is no built-in mechanism to hide phone numbers in WhatsApp, but some workarounds may help you achieve this goal without compromising your data or security.
So, let us dive into the details right away.
Part 1: How to Hide Your Number on WhatsApp?
Since there is no built-in mechanism for hiding numbers on WhatsApp, we have to take help from other applications to figure out how to hide phone numbers on Android. There are various methods, including;
1. Create a Google Voice Phone number
The best answer to how to hide phone numbers on Android or any other platform is to use a virtual phone number. The virtual phone service we are discussing today is the Google Voice Phone number, and you can use the Google Voice phone number to make free calls and communicate through text messages and call forwarding.
So, how to mask phone numbers on WhatsApp using Google Virtual phone service.
First of all, you need to install the application. So, here are the steps to download and install Google virtual phone number service.
- Step 1: Go to your Play Store or App store according to your platform and search for the google voice app. Then download and install the service to get started.
- Step 2: The next step is to register your account. So, log into your Google account, or if you have already logged in, hit on the “Continue As your-account-name” button.
- Step 3: Now, spend some time with the terms and conditions and then hit the accept button.
Now you need to select a location to link with your virtual phone number to move on to the solution of how to mask phone numbers.
- Step 4: Search for the location according to your choice with area, city, or state.
When you can locate your preferred place, hit the select button.
- Step 5: From now on, you can easily follow the Google wizard instructions and get the Google virtual number.
2. Change your number
You have acquired a virtual number that you can use to hide your real phone number on WhatsApp. So, use this number to register for a WhatsApp account, or if you already registered your physical number with WhatsApp, you can go on to change your number.
Your last phone number must be verified, so here is how you will ensure this.
- Step 1: Launch WhatsApp on your phone and open the menu in the top right corner by clicking the three dots.
- Step 2: In the menu, go to the Settings sub-menu.
- Step 3: Click on your profile photo; if your number is verified, it will show here and if it is not verified, follow the instructions.
So, now is when we can finally change the phone number on WhatsApp to address how to hide phone numbers on Android.
- Step 4: Open the menu at the top right corner on the WhatsApp screen by clicking the three dots.
- Step 5: Go to Settings > Account option.
- Step 6: Click on the Change number option; you will see a warning; move ahead by clicking the next button.
- Step 7: Enter the new number and the existing numbers on the respective fields and hit the next button.
- Step 8: In the next step, you will select who will be notified about the change. You can select it according to your preference and click the done button to move on.
- Step 9: So, all we are left with is the verification of the new number. This step is required in both cases, whether you change the number or register a new WhatsApp account.
- Step 10: You can receive the OTP SMS and code directly from the Google Voice app. Enter this code to WhatsApp, and Voila! Your verification is complete.
So this is how you can answer these frequently asked questions about how to hide phone numbers on Android? What can someone do with your phone number? How to mask a phone number?
Part 2: How to Protect Your Personal WhatsApp Data
What can someone do with your phone number?
As the world is moving towards more and more digitization, digital identity is becoming critical, and your phone number is an important part of it. Your cell phone number can be used to access your secure data online, including your email, social media, bank accounts, financial information, and much more.
Scammers can use your phone number to do your private data mining and later use it for scamming, blackmailing, and even selling it again. So, you must take great precautions before sharing your phone number, especially online, on social media, and in any public setup.
Now, you must have got an idea why people are usually concerned about how to hide phone numbers on Android? And how to mask a phone number? So, everyone must be trying to boost online privacy and as we are talking about WhatsApp, let's discuss what steps can be taken for a secure online presence for you on WhatsApp.
You can keep your conversations and related data on your WhatsApp backup. Though it may sound fascinating to have a backup to restore in case of a phone problem or a new phone, you should remember that this data is not very securely encrypted and can land in scammers' hands.
Secondly, turn on WhatsApp's two-factor authentication. It will ask you to enter a six-digit code but not always. So, it will not hinder your working or smoothness of use but will ask you a PIN a few times to log in, adding another layer of authentication. It can be turned on in the settings menu.
Also, go to the privacy settings and restrict who can see your private information, your online status, and so on.
In the worst case, if you suspect someone else is accessing your WhatsApp and making any changes, you can check it.How to Check If Someone Else Is Accessing Your WhatsApp Account
Part 3: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Do I have to Use My Real Phone Number on WhatsApp?WhatsApp uses your phone number to send the verification codes while registering your account.
So, yes, you have to use your real phone number on WhatsApp. So, this is a type of online phone that shows the phone number. However, you can also use a landline number or a virtual phone number. In such cases, you would use call-based authentication instead of text authentication using OTP.
According to the detailed guide of ways to use WhatsApp without phone number, you can use your landline number or a virtual number to register your WhatsApp account. In this case, you will be using voice authentication instead of SMS.
3. How to Change WhatsApp Number Without Notifying Contacts?WhatsApp has always gained in its security features. Since it is like an online phone that shows the phone number when you switch your WhatsApp number, it is pretty obvious, and your contacts get a notification about the change. So, if you want to keep the change unnoticed and swift, you will have to perform a few extra steps.
We are not going into the details in this write-up; you can find the step-by-step guide in the article How to Change WhatsApp Number Without Notifying Contacts?
Sometimes you might want to know how to hide phone numbers on Android while chatting and mask phone numbers on iPhone. The reason can be that you wonder what someone can do with your phone number, and you want to keep it secure.
Also, hiding online status on WhatsApp while chatting is critical for people who are big on privacy and need this feature. Some methods are discussed in the article How To Hide Your Online Status In WhatsApp While Chatting?
Conclusion
WhatsApp is a popular messaging application, and most of us think it is very secure and private. However, you still need to take some steps to keep your online identity safe. We have discussed what someone can do with your phone number above. Keeping this in mind, it is important to know how to hide phone numbers on Android and how to mask phone numbers.
New Trendings
How to hide a number on Whatsapp
Why do many people want to hide a number on Whatsapp? Numerous functions of this program may not seem very useful at first, but they provide the user with various options. Hiding a number is one of them.
User security is ensured through the organization of complete privacy, as well as its detailed configuration to hide certain or all data from a personal account from prying eyes.
Why hide
For many of us, anonymity is more important than anything else, and some do not even suspect why such a function is needed.
It only remains to note that everyone has their own reasons, which can be the main reason for such an action. It is necessary to use the option to hide the number in the application in case of great need.
How to hide any unused contacts
The utility transfers mobile numbers of all those subscribers who have a popular messenger from the general contact book of the phone.
This is an important and rather useful option, since by adding a friend to the contact book, you can immediately start chatting in the application.
However, if a certain situation arises when you need to remove some number from the list and hide a specific user, it becomes necessary to disable this option.
Today, all communication in a popular application is limited to chats. In this regard, to hide a chat with some contact, you will need to use the so-called archiving of all correspondence.
On an iPhone
What you need to do:
- Open an item called Chats in the main menu.
- Swipe to the left on the necessary correspondence to quickly open a special menu.
- Select Archive.
On the Android OS
Must be done:
- Go to the item called Chats.
- Press and hold your finger until a new menu appears.
- Select and enable archiving: box-shaped icon with an arrow.
Hiding on Android OS
Hiding algorithm:
Starting the WhatsApp application.
- Open the menu by pressing the three vertical dots at the top of the screen.
- Select the Settings tab.
- Select Account.
- Select the setting mode called Privacy.
- Define for each of the account data visibility options the mode depending entirely on certain preferences (No one, All users or My contacts) for sections such as Visit time, Geodata, Profile photo Status and Details.
The user of the program can disable or enable the so-called Read Receipts. When this feature is disabled, the user will unfortunately not be able to see certain status of their message.
Hiding on iPhone
Hiding algorithm:
- Starting the WhatsApp application.
- Selecting the Settings menu by pressing the gear icon.
- Selecting the Account tab.
- Selecting a setting mode called Privacy.
- Defines for each of the account data visibility options the mode completely depending on specific preferences (No one, All users or My contacts) for sections such as Visit time, Profile photo, Status, Information and Geodata.
Thus, hiding the number in the popular Whatsapp application is a completely accessible and understandable feature that is currently used by quite a lot of users around the world.
Source: https://message-app.com/kak-skryt-nomer-v-whatsapp.html
How to block unknown whatsapp numbers not in contacts
Whatsapp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. Almost everyone you know is on WhatsApp. Do you know what that means? If you have someone's number, chances are he/she has also installed WhatsApp on their smartphone. Why does it matter?
The way WhatsApp works is simple. I will save your number and immediately know if you have it installed or not.
All I have to do is search the app. Armed with this information, I can now send you unsolicited messages and even calls, which can be annoying to say the least.
I recently received messages about how much I need hosting for my domains and how "experienced" they are in SEO. How they knew I had a certain domain name is a different spam story.
That's when I started looking for a solution on how to block unknown WhatsApp numbers that are not saved in my contacts. But first, let's take a quick look at how to block numbers that are in your contacts.
Interesting fact: Jan Koum, one of the founders of WhatsApp, tweeted that the Android team consists of only 5 people. They were responsible for reaching 1 billion downloads on the Play Store. A very small, focused team and a very big impact.
Block WhatsApp numbers saved in contacts
These are people you know. You saved their number in the contacts app.
Time to stop getting those annoying forwarding messages!
Open the chat window of the contact you want to block. You know, the one who spreads rumors and fake news. Now click on his/her name at the top. I will try it with my father! He keeps sending me this quote from his daily messages.
Scroll down and you should see a lock button. Click on it and confirm. The number is now blacklisted. You can unblock again by clicking on the same button, which should now say Unblock.
Note: you cannot block numbers in large numbers. You will need to repeat the steps for each contact you wish to block.
Block unknown WhatsApp numbers that are not in contacts
These are the people who send you spam links with offers and discounts that will "amaze" you. When you receive such a message from an unknown number, open the chat window and ask if he knows you.
Why? Last week I joined Bob Proctor's webinar and his assistant contacted whatsapp. Luckily, I didn't block it right away. Don't go for blocking just because you feel irritated. Maybe it has something to do with you.
If you think a message is clearly spam, open a chat window. Near the top you will see two options: Block or Add.
If you find the message useful or know the sender, click Add and save the number. Otherwise, click on Block. A pop-up window will appear asking you to either block the contact or report and block. I prefer the latter.
Note . When you share a number with WhatsApp, that number is added to a watchlist maintained by WhatsApp. If the number of users is reported multiple times, it will be temporarily blocked. Think of it as a warning to curb spam. WhatsApp can permanently block a number at its discretion. Exact information is not available on the official help page.
Privacy and security
WhatsApp is not only easy and convenient to use, but also easy and convenient to use in the wrong way. This is what makes it a breeding ground for fake news and link spam for nefarious people. If you're not careful, people can see a lot of information about you and use it to send messages that look less like spam.
That's why I think you can stop some spam by taking care of your privacy and security settings.
Read Also: Top 17 New WhatsApp Tips and Tricks for Android in 2018
Click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen and click on settings.
Click on the account.
You should now see two options at the top. Privacy and security, and some advanced options like 2-Step Verification, which I suggest you turn on. Click on Privacy now.
Here you will see a bunch of options.
