When you call someone, you usually want them to know who you are. usually. On the other hand, there may be times when you want or need to hide your phone number from the person on the other end of the call. Whether you have an Android or an iPhone, you can easily hide your number using one of these three options.
Note that some carriers may override your ability to block caller ID, requiring you to block your number directly with them. But at the hardware level, the basic steps vary depending on your device.
How to hide your number on iOS
To block your phone number on iPhone, you need to follow the steps below.
First, navigate to Settings.
Select Phone and then Show my caller ID .
This will display a new list of options. Find and disable the "Show my caller ID" switch.
How to hide your number on Android
On Android, the name of the specific setting may be different, depending on the version of Android you have and the brand of smartphone you have. However, the basic steps should remain the same.
First, open the menu from the Phone app by pressing in the upper right corner.
Click Settings and find the Calling or Calling Account option.
Now, depending on your phone, you need to do one of two things. If you're using a Pixel device, tap the SIM card you want to manage caller ID for and select Additional settings .
Now, tap on the caller ID and change it to a hidden number from the list shown in the pop-up window. Remember, your Pixel device needs a valid SIM card to manage caller ID.
On other Android devices, select Supplementary Services (some devices call this Additional Settings ) from the Calling or Calling Account menu.
You should now see the "Show your caller ID" option. Switch it to Never block your name and number from making calls.
Use star codes to block your number
This approach has been around for decades. Depending on where you live, you can press *67 on your phone's keypad and enter the phone number you want to hide. When the other end receives your call, you will get an "Unknown Number" or "Unknown Caller" popup. This method is particularly useful for checking if someone has blocked your phone number, as it will bypass the block and allow you to contact the person anyway.
However, if you are in the UK or Ireland, you must enter 141 before the phone number, not *67.
Hide your phone number with your carrier
This method is the most complicated and requires you to specifically contact your carrier. Carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile will let you hide your number by calling customer service and asking them to activate blocking settings in their system. They may ask you why you are hiding your phone number, so come up with a reason before calling them.
If you get phone service through Verizon, you can hide your phone number and caller ID by looking for the "Block Service" setting on the Verizon website or in the MyVerizon app. My Verizon is available on Android and iOS, so you can easily manage Caller ID blocking no matter where you are.
Alternatively, if you need your phone number to be displayed when 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 be displayed instead of the unknown caller.
Unfortunately, you can't block your number for everyone. Some organizations, businesses and emergency services may still see your phone number and name. If you want to be completely anonymous, you can always use a calling app like Google Voice or Burner.
Even if you hide your number, spammers can still figure it out. I also recommend learning how to block annoying spam calls on Android to help reduce the random calls you may receive throughout the day.
