Mobile virtual numbers

Every phone number belongs to a range, and every range is registered to a carrier and a type: mobile, fixed line, VoIP, premium and so on. A mobile virtual number is a number from a mobile carrier's range that is hosted on our platform rather than in a SIM. Calls and SMS to it travel through the carrier exactly as they would to a handset, then reach you over the internet. To the outside world, including any app that checks, it is a mobile phone number.

That is the whole difference from a VoIP number. A VoIP number is also delivered over the internet, but it is allocated from a range registered as VoIP, and that label is visible to anyone who looks it up.

Before sending a verification SMS, most apps and many websites query a lookup database for the number's carrier and type. The query takes milliseconds and costs almost nothing, so services use it to filter out cheap, disposable VoIP numbers. If the result says VoIP, WhatsApp refuses to send the code, many sign-up pages show an error, and some banks silently drop the SMS. If the result says mobile, the code goes out.

A lookup is not the only check: services also watch for ranges that have been abused by mass sign-ups. We rent mobile numbers for a month or longer to one customer at a time, so the numbers you rent from us are not the recycled numbers that get whole ranges flagged. We do not promise acceptance by any particular service, but a long-term mobile number passes both of the checks that cause most rejections.

WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business, where VoIP ranges are mostly refused. Telegram and other messaging apps that verify by SMS. Account verification on Google, social networks, marketplaces, delivery and dating apps. A second, private number for sign-up forms so your personal mobile stays off the lists. For a business line where you mainly make and take calls and no app will check the number, a VoIP number does the same job for less; for a city area code, rent a local number instead.

We provision the number, usually within one business day, and email you access. Inbound SMS is unlimited and included: read it in the web dashboard, have each message forwarded to your email, or open the mobile app on any phone or tablet. Calls to the number can be answered in the app or forwarded to a phone you already carry, in any country, and outbound calls and SMS are billed per use where the country supports them. Several people can share the same inbox, which is how teams run WhatsApp Business on one number.