Need to make your number unknown on Android? We don’t judge, as long as your intentions aren’t malicious. Sometimes you need to get through to a person who doesn’t pick up your calls, or pull an innocent prank on a friend or a family member. Other times, you want to stay private and prevent people from calling you back – telemarketers and scammers instantly come to mind. When you make the call, the only thing the recipient will see is “Unknown Number” or “Unknown Caller ID”. Here’s how to do it.
This article is strictly for informational purposes. If you use it for something sneaky chances are that it is going to end up bad. So, do not make anonymous calls with bad intentions. You will get caught.
Reasons to make your Android number unknown?
There could be several reasons why you might be looking for a way to hide your mobile number on your Android smartphone. As long as they are legal, you are good to go. Here are some of the reasons to hide a mobile number on Android –
- To ensure privacy while making calls to anonymous phone numbers.
- To prevent identity theft while making phone calls to scammers or similar bad people.
- You might want to mask your number for business purposes. For example, multiple phone numbers from your employees could be routed to a single business number.
- You just want to prank your friends without letting them know that it is you calling.
Process to make your number unknown on Android
This is a long-term solution, used when you need to hide your phone number often. Keep in mind, the options might be named differently, based on a carrier and device in question.
To make your number unknown on Android 9 and 10+
- Open the Phone app.
- Locate the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and tap on them.
- Choose Settings from the drop-down list.
- Select Calls.On some models, the option is named Calling accounts.
- Tap on Additional settings.On some models, you might have to tap on the name of your carrier under Settings, then tap on Additional settings.
- Wait for the phone to load details, then tap on Caller ID.
- On the pop-up window, check the Hide number option.
To hide phone number for individual calls on Android
If you only need to make one or two anonymous calls, you can use a blocking code. It varies from country to country, as you can see below. Simply enter the code as a prefix to the number you want to call. For example, the number to dial will look like this: #31#0645566778.
- *9# – Nepal (NTC)
- *23#, *23 – South Korea
- #31# – United States (AT&T), Australia, Argentina, Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Greece, India (network unlock required), Israel, Netherlands (KPN), Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany (some carriers), France, South Africa, Serbia
- *31# – Germany
- *31* – Iceland, Netherlands, South Africa (Telkom), Romania
- *32# – Pakistan (PTCL)
- *67 – United States (All carriers except AT&T), New Zealand (Vodafone)
- 133 – Hong Kong
- 141 – Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom
- 184 – Japan
- 0197 – New Zealand (Spark, Telecom)
Additional tips
If your phone is using a GSM network, you can try the #31# block code from any country, it will likely work. To check, do this.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and tap on System.
- Tap on About phone.
- Tap on Status.
- If there is an IMEI Number, your phone uses a GSM network.
Hiding a Caller ID won’t work for calling emergency services in your country (911 in the United States) or toll-free numbers (for example, starting with 800 or 888).
How to spoof a number on Android
The only way to hide your identity is to either purchase a burner phone or to use a secondary number to call or text from the same device, called spoofing.
You can do this by using apps such as Talkatone, textPlus, Google Voice, or Dingtone. After installation, you can use your real number or choose a phone number at random. Afterward, the apps function like your Phone and Messages apps – no learning curve there.
Well, now you know how to call from an unknown number on Android. If someone else tries to use this knowledge for wrongdoing, here’s how to block numbers and texts from harassing you.