How to hide whatsapp number in contact list
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.
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How to hide a contact in WhatsApp (hidden contacts)
Content
- Hide correspondence in WhatsApp
- Do not show hidden contacts
- What can you hide in WhatsApp?
Privacy and the ability to keep user secrets are very important properties of a good messenger. Most companies even fight with the authorities to keep these features because they understand their importance to users. And WhatsApp is no exception. The creators of the application are constantly working on improving privacy and security, thanks to which everyone has the opportunity not only to keep correspondence away from prying eyes, but also to hide information about themselves from other users. Is it possible to hide a contact in WhatsApp? What can be hidden in WhatsApp?
Hiding WhatsApp conversations
The first concern of today's users is privacy. Nobody wants his correspondence with friends and relatives to be read by strangers.
And if messengers (including Vatsap) are still successfully fighting government requirements for the disclosure of personal data, then protection against intrusions by relatives or soulmates still leaves much to be desired.
Many people believe that today the easiest way to keep correspondence secret is not to leave your phone unattended. Yes, the developers of WhatsApp really did not provide for the possibility of setting an additional password for the application. On the contrary, they did everything so that the user could easily and quickly get into the messenger and start communication. So to protect your secrets, you can only set a password on the phone itself for now. But if for some reason this option does not suit you, then there are already a large number of third-party applications that will help you “password” Vatsap. An example of such a program is AppLock. This is far from the only such application. There are many others that can make it difficult for outsiders to access not only WhatsApp, but also mail, sms, photos and videos.
Another option that messenger users dream about so much, but which developers are in no hurry to implement, is the ability to hide their online status, that is, stealth mode. Here again, third-party developers have tried by offering the HideStatus application. Using it, you can become invisible to your WhatsApp friends list. That is, neither friends nor outsiders will see whether you are online or not.
Do not show hidden contacts
As for contacts, if you have hidden contacts on your phone, you can simply hide them in WhatsApp.
To do this, uncheck "Show hidden contacts". To do this:
1.Start the messenger, open the “Contacts” tab and go to the “Settings” menu (using the button in the form of 3 dots).
2.In the menu that opens, find the "Contacts" submenu.
3. Remove the checkmark in the "All contacts" field.
4.Wait for the data to update and click OK.
After that, hidden friends should disappear from your WhatsApp address book.
That is, the messenger will simply stop pulling up a certain group of numbers, for example, numbers from the phone’s memory or a SIM card.
If you want to learn more about WhatsApp contact management, read our article.
What can be hidden in WhatsApp?
But not everything is as bad with privacy in WhatsApp as it might seem at first glance. The user can hide almost any information about his activity from those with whom he communicates in the messenger. At the same time, it is possible to hide this data both from all users and from a certain group of people (or rather, to give access to information only to the closest).
To adjust the privacy settings in Watsap, you need to open the main menu and go to the "Account" submenu.
In this menu, select the "Privacy" item.
Having done this, you will be taken to a section that consists of 2 blocks: a block for setting messages and a block in which you can set the parameters for the visibility of personal data.
Let's start with the second. Here you can configure who will see your profile photo, read your status, and receive information about the date and time of your last visit to WhatsApp.
In each of the fields (photo, status and visit time) you can choose who will have access to this information - no one, everyone or only the contact list. That is, you can easily make it so that you will use the messenger, but no one will know this, except for those to whom you directly send messages.
But there is one nuance here: by hiding your data from other users, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to know this information about them.
For example, if you do not want to show your visit time, you will also not know when other users logged into WhatsApp. And if you hide your profile photo from everyone but yourself, you won't see your friends' photos either.
The same applies to the message block. Here you can, for example, turn off read receipts if you do not want other users to know whether you have read their messages or not yet.
This is a useful feature, it saves you from insults and fights on the topic “you read, but did not answer.” However, by disabling reports, you yourself will not be able to be sure that your messages have reached the addressee.
You can also manage the blacklist in this settings block. The users you add there cannot call or send messages to you. To blacklist someone, just go to "Blocked", click on the icon of a man with a plus and select from the list that appears the subscriber with whom you no longer want to communicate.
So far, these are all officially available ways in WhatsApp to ensure the confidentiality of communication. News and regularly released updates show that messenger developers are fighting with a bang with vulnerabilities. So let's hope that soon they will get to privacy and finally please users with something new - the topic of protecting personal information is too relevant today.
How to hide a WhatsApp number on Android and iPhone: make a contact invisible
Not all users want to display their contacts, and many are probably interested in the question, how to hide the number in WhatsApp .
Let's say right away that some privacy can be configured in the program options, but it will not work to completely hide the phone number.
Contents
- How to hide a number in WhatsApp
- How to hide a phone number
- How to limit the visibility of a number
- Instructions for iPhone
- Privacy settings
- Hidden contacts function
- Android features
- How to hide an unused phone number
- Conclusion
How to hide a number on WhatsApp
9002 publicly undesirable. The second point is the reluctance to “shine” the number in front of a person with whom it is unpleasant for you to communicate or you are afraid of sudden calls from him.
How to hide the phone number
The options described above can hide most user information, but not all. You can be found on WhatsApp if the person who is looking for you has your phone number, or you are in his phone book.
If you set privacy settings, you will not be able to view hidden information in the profile of the interlocutors.
How to limit the visibility of the number
There are no settings that would allow this in WhatsApp. You will be able to limit the circle of people to whom you will block access to the profile, but the phone number will be available to all users added to the contact list.
If you are afraid of someone's activity, we recommend either not adding a person at all, or blocking.
Instructions for iPhone
As in the case of Android OS, hiding a phone number in WhatsApp will not work from contacts. However, there are other customizable options that will increase the anonymity of your account.
Privacy settings
The built-in system features are also used here. To change the parameter values:
- Run the application and tap on the buttons in the form of a gear in the lower right corner.
- In a new window, go to the section " Account ".
- And then " Privacy ".
- A list of configurable parameters opens: " Was / was ", " Status ", " Groups ", " Profile photo ", " Information ".
- Tap on the desired item, and in the new window select the preferred option: " All ", " Nobody ", " Contacts ".
As soon as you change all or part of your privacy settings, the system will automatically hide similar information from your interlocutors.
Hidden contacts feature
The default contact list shows all contacts in the phone book.
And if you have a lot of other things, then finding the right contact is difficult. Many contacts do not have a WhatsApp account and it is logical that these messenger entries are simply not needed.
WhatsApp has the ability to sort contacts by some parameters, or create your own algorithm.
Unfortunately, doing something similar on an iOS device will not work, since there is not even a Contacts tab, but there is another option.
Android features
To hide contacts in WhatsApp, you need:
- Go to the " Calls " tab, press the button with the image of the handset to open the contact list.
- Click on the button in the form of three dots in the upper right corner and select the item " Contacts ".
- In the " Search in contacts " field, click on the " Menu " button and select " Configure filter ".
- Switch the radio button to item " Other filter ".
- Untick " All contacts " in WhatsApp section.
- Press " Save ".
- The system will automatically apply your changes.
How to hide an unused phone number
If your contact list has a lot of old or unwanted numbers or conversations that you no longer need, you can hide them. For this, the function of archiving correspondence histories is perfect.
To transfer correspondence and an inactive contact to the archive:
- Launch the messenger and being on the tab " Chats " scroll through the page until you find the desired correspondence.
- With a long tap, we call up a menu of additional actions.
- In the list of function buttons, select " Archive ".
The system will automatically apply the changes, unnecessary chat is now hidden.
If you want to archive a large number of correspondence and contacts:
- Perform a long tap on the first chat until the function buttons appear in the top bar.
