When you call someone, you usually want them to know who you are. Usually. On the flip side, there are times when you might want or need to hide your phone number from the person on the other end of the call. Whether you use an Android or iPhone, you can easily hide your number using one of three options.
Note that some carriers may override your ability to block your Caller ID, requiring you to block your number through them directly. But on the hardware level, the basic steps vary depending on your device.
How to hide your number on iOS
To block your phone number on your iPhone, you’ll want to follow these steps.
First, navigate to Settings.
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Select Phone and then Show My Caller ID.
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This will bring up a new list of options. Find and disable the toggle for “Show My Caller ID.”
Credit: Joshua Hawkins
How to hide your number on Android
On Android, the name of specific settings may vary depending on which version of Android you’re on and what brand of smartphone you’re using. The basic steps should remain the same, though.
First, open the menu from the Phone app by pressing in the top-right corner.
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Tap Settings and then find the Call or Calling Accounts option.
Credit: Joshua Hawkins
Now, depending on your phone, you’ll need to do one of two things. If you’re on a Pixel device, tap the SIM that you want to manage the Caller ID for and then select Additional Settings.
Now, tap Caller ID and change it to Hide Number in the list that appears in the popup. Keep in mind that your Pixel device will need to have an active SIM in order to manage the Caller ID.
On other Android devices, select Supplementary Services (some devices call it Additional Settings) from the Call or Calling Accounts menu.
You should now see a Show Your Caller ID option. Toggle it to Never to block your name and number when making phone calls.
Block your number using a star code
This method has been around for decades. Depending on where you live, you can press *67 on your phone’s keyboard before entering the phone number you want to hide your number from. When the other end receives your call, you’ll pop up as “Unknown Number” or “Unknown Caller.” This method is especially helpful for checking if someone has blocked your phone number, as it’ll bypass the block, allowing you to contact the person anyway.
However, if you’re in the United Kingdom or Ireland, you must type 141 before the phone number instead of *67.
Hide your phone number through your carrier
This method is the most complex, requiring you to reach out specifically to your carrier. Carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile will allow you to hide your number by simply calling customer service and having them activate a blocking setting in their system. They may ask why you want to hide your number, so think up a reason before giving them a call.
If you get your phone service through Verizon, you can hide your phone number and Caller ID by finding the Block Services setting on the Verizon website or in the MyVerizon app. My Verizon is available on Android and iOS, so you can easily manage your caller ID-blocking features wherever you are.
Alternatively, if you ever need your phone number to show up while using this particular method, you can always dial *82 before dialing the phone number you want to call, which will force your Caller ID to appear instead of Unknown Caller.
Unfortunately, you can’t block your number for everyone. Some organizations, businesses, and emergency services will still be able to see your phone number and name. If you want to lean into full anonymity, you can always use calling apps like Google Voice or Burner instead.
Even when you hide your number, spammers can still figure out your digits. I also recommend learning how to block annoying spam calls on Android, to help cut down on the random calls you might be getting throughout the day.
