A private or blocked number can be used to hide your caller ID from the people you call. There are different benefits to hiding a caller ID. Many of the benefits are based on the added layer of privacy that calling from a withheld number gives.
The risks of giving your number away because of a robocall, for example, can be significantly reduced with a private phone number.
This article teaches you how to hide caller ID from people you call. Here are the different methods you may find useful if you're trying to figure out how to block your phone number.
How to Hide Caller ID with Phone Block Code
A phone block code can be dialed from your phone to hide its number when calls are made from it. You can use the following phone block codes to hide caller ID:
- *67 for North America mobile phones and landlines
- 141 for UK phones
- 1167 for most North America rotary phones
- #31# for AT&T North America phones, Canadian mobile phones, and most European & South American phones
Hide Caller ID Using iOS and Android Settings
To hide caller ID through the iPhone settings, complete the following steps:
- Open the Settings application on your iPhone
- Press the Phone button in the Settings menu
- Tap the toggle switch next to Show My Caller ID
After tapping on the toggle switch next to “Show My Caller ID,” your caller ID will no longer appear when you make phone calls from your iPhone.
Use the following steps to block your number on Android:
- Open the Menu within the Phone app
- Select Call settings within Settings
- Press Additional settings
- Press Caller ID
- Select Hide number
After choosing “Hide number,” your phone will hide your number. You can turn the number privacy feature off by selecting Show number or Network default.
Dialing *82 will help to bypass the private number filter. Some providers and users block calls from private numbers, meaning you won't be able to contact them without lifting your caller ID block.
Asking Your Phone Carrier to Block Your Number
You can call your phone carrier to get their assistance with making your calls private. To get your phone carrier’s help with making your calls private, call their customer or technical support team. You can contact your carrier by dialing 611.
Your phone carrier should block all outgoing calls upon request. After your carrier sets up your private number, you will be able to dial numbers without having your caller ID showing.
Using a Burner App
A burner app essentially gives you a second number to dial with. The app uses your internet data to make calls. This means that the burner app's calls won’t show the number you wish to keep private.
Google Voice is considered to be a burner app. With the Google Voice app, the Google Voice number shows whenever outbound calls are made. Instead of your phone number showing when you make a call, a Google Voice number shows.
There are data privacy risks that may increase when using a burner app. In certain instances, the data you give to the app may threaten your data privacy rights. It is important to learn about your rights regarding the data privacy obligations of the app to you.
Differences in Phone Carriers and Hardware
The process used to block phone numbers is not always the same due to phone carriers and hardware differences. Also, blocking your number on a per-call basis can take a lot more time than you would like. You can use a wireless carrier to avoid this issue.