6 Ways To Call Private On iPhone By Hiding Your Caller ID

When you call someone, your phone number is visible on the receiver’s phone. This feature is called Caller ID. If you want to keep your phone number anonymous and hide it from the person you call, there are a few ways how to call private on iphone . Follow below.

Why Hide Your Caller ID?

There could be scenarios when you wouldn’t want the receiver to know your phone number. For example:

• You’re calling a business and afraid that they may use your number for unnecessary marketing calls.
• Someone told you to call someone and you don’t want to reveal your phone number to the stranger you’re calling.
• A person who has your phone number in their contacts list is ignoring your calls. You want to call anonymously so they pick the phone up.
• Some other privacy reasons.

How To Call private on iPhone Anonymously Using Your iPhone or Android Phone?

You may have to use these methods in combination to call private on iPhone and Android phones. When done successfully, the person at the receiving end would see ‘Unknown Number’, ‘Private’, ‘Restricted’, ‘No Caller ID’, or any other tag in place of your phone number.

Note: Some people use call blocking settings to flag or block calls from unknown numbers. So, hiding your Caller ID might reduce the odds of your call being picked up by the receiver.

Furthermore, if the receiver is using an app or service to reveal Caller IDs, your phone number might be displayed on their phone if you call them. And there is no way to hide your Caller ID when calling 911 and 800 numbers.

Use these methods to call anonymously:

1. Hide Your Phone Number for One Call Only
2. Permanently Hide Your Caller ID for A Specific Person
3. Disable the ‘Show My Caller ID’ Option on iPhone to Hide Your Number for All Calls
4. Hide Your Phone Number from Settings Using an Android Phone
5. Check with Your Carrier to Hide Your Caller ID
6. Use a Secondary ‘Burner’ Number

1. Hide Your Phone Number for One Call Only

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has made it mandatory for carriers to give callers the choice to block their Caller ID if they desire. This is why you can use the code *67 before dialing the area code and the phone number to hide your Caller ID on that call only.

It is the easiest method to block your phone number from displaying on the receiver’s end when making individual calls. It’s free and it works for both mobile phones and landlines as you only need to add the code, dial the number, and tap the call button.

If the above code doesn’t hide your mobile number, use the shortcode #31# before the ten-digit recipient’s phone number. This is because T-Mobile uses this code to hide your Caller ID where both your name and phone number are visible.

But beware.

If you use this code with other carriers, it would be processed as a normal call. This means your Caller ID won’t be anonymous. So, check out the effectiveness of these codes with different carriers before making the actual call. 

This code is for US carriers only. If you’re in a different country, search the caller ID blocking code on Google. You can search ‘caller ID blocking code in the UK’ if you live in England. 

2. Permanently Hide Your Caller ID for A Specific Person

If there is someone who you know would call more than once but still doesn’t want to reveal your phone number, use this trick. Add their number to your contacts. Then edit their number and add *67 before it.

Now, whenever you’d call them, they won’t be able to see your Caller ID. Use these steps for Android, iPhone, and any other type of phone:

• Go to Contacts
• Select the contact you want to call anonymously for the long term.
• Edit the phone number and add *67 before the number.

• Save the contact.

3. Disable the ‘Show My Caller ID’ Option on iPhone to Hide Your Number for All Calls

With iPhones, you have the choice if you want to reveal your phone number to the receiver or not. If you turn off the option ‘Show My Caller ID’ from the settings menu, your number won’t be visible to anyone you call, in theory.

This is handy when you don’t want to reveal your phone number to anyone you’re calling. You can call multiple numbers without adding the code manually for each outgoing call.

But this feature isn’t flawless. Some wireless carriers don’t support this option so it’s possible that you may not see it if you’re on Verizon, Straight Talk, US Cellular, and some other carriers.

On the other hand, if you’re an AT&T or T-Mobile customer, this feature should be there in Settings. Follow these steps:

• Open the Settings app of your iPhone.
• Pick ‘Phone’ from settings.
• Select ‘Show My Caller ID’‘.

• Turn off ‘Show My Caller ID’.

If you have blocked your Caller ID with this method and you want to make a call to someone revealing your phone number, add *82 at the beginning of the number of the recipient. However, all carriers may not support this code.

4. Hide Your Phone Number from Settings Using an Android Phone

Android phones have a Caller ID blocking feature similar to iPhones with the same benefits and flaws. The location of the Caller ID option varies depending on the phone manufacturer, but the steps may be similar.

Moreover, if your carrier doesn’t support the disabling of your Caller ID, you won’t see the option or if you see it, it won’t be changeable. Use these steps:

• Open the ‘Phone’ app on your Android phone.
• Tap the three dots at the top right corner.
• Choose ‘Settings’.
• Select ‘Other Call Settings’, ‘More Settings’, or any other similar option.
• Tap ‘Caller ID’ and choose ‘Hide number’.

5. Check with Your Carrier to Hide Your Caller ID

Some carriers provide advanced options on their apps that work on any iPhone or Android device. You can navigate their apps to enable Caller ID blocking. The official apps for popular carriers in the US are My Verizon app, My Sprint Mobile, myAT&T, and My T-Mobile.

That being said, some carriers activate Caller ID blocking only when you call them and ask to enable this service. You should also check out if this service is free or paid.

If you successfully activate Caller ID blocking, it will be for all outgoing calls. For making a call where you would want the receiver to see your phone number, dial *82 before the phone number.

6. Use a Secondary ‘Burner’ Number

If you don’t want the confusion of Caller ID blocking, get a second number and use it whenever you don’t want the other person to see your primary phone number.

This is an easy method because you don’t need to activate any option on the carrier side, on your phone, or dial any code if you get a new phone number. But complications begin again, in case you use third-party apps for a burner number.

Google Voice as a Burner Number

If you use a burner number from an app such as Google Voice, you need to be aware of a few things:

• You must link your phone number with Google Voice. However, your primary number isn’t shared when you’re using the Google Voice number.
• The number you can link to Google Voice should be a phone number within the United States. VoIP numbers aren’t supported.
• For changing and deleting your mobile number, you need to visit the Google Voice website.

Here’s how to use Google Voice to make calls with a burner number:

• Go to App Store or Google Play Store, search for ‘Google Voice’, and install the app.

• Open the app and select your Google account. If you’re on iPhone and haven’t logged in to any Google account, add your Google account.
• On the next screen, select the number you want to use.
• After this, you’ll be asked to link your phone number with the Google Voice number. Enter your phone number and then type the code you receive on the Google Voice app.
• You’ve set up your new number. If you get the screen ‘Call with Google Voice’, select ‘No’ and choose ‘Select number before each call’ from the list. With this, whenever you make an outgoing call, you’ll be asked which number you want to use.
• Now, if you open Google Voice, you’ll see tabs where you can check your outgoing and incoming calls, messages, and voicemails on the second phone number.
• To make a call, open Google Voice and tap the blue button at the bottom-right corner of the screen. If it’s not visible, go to the call tab and then tap the blue button. Moreover, Android users can make calls using the Google Voice number from the Phone app as well.

Google Voice provides secondary numbers for America only. If you’re not from America, try any other similar app.

Conclusion

Making calls anonymously is useful in many cases. The easiest way to hide your Caller ID is by dialing *67 before the ten-digit number. We have also listed other methods above if you’re interested.

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