Send Free Text Online From a Separate Number
To send free text online from a number that isn't your personal one, use a free texting app that assigns you a second number. These services mostly serve people in the US and Canada, are paid for by ads, and run in an app or a browser over Wi-Fi or data.
Here's how they work, what sign-up usually involves, and the limits worth knowing before you give the number to anyone.
How free second-number apps work
You create an account and the app gives you a phone number, often letting you pick from the area codes it has available. Texts to and from that number travel over the internet to the app, and the service connects them to the regular phone network, so the people you text see an ordinary-looking number.
Most of these services share three traits:
- Ads pay for it. The free version usually shows ads, with optional paid extras.
- The number belongs to the service. If you stop using it for a while, it can be reclaimed and handed to someone else. Check the app's current inactivity rules.
- Messages go to your account. Unlike a public number on TemporarySMS, the inbox isn't published on a web page for anyone to read.
Well-known examples
These names are widely used in the US and Canada and are listed in no particular order. Features and availability change, so read the current app store listing or the service's own help pages before signing up.
- TextNow: a free texting and calling app with a US or Canadian number, supported by ads, with mobile apps and a web version.
- TextFree: a free texting app that assigns you a separate number, also supported by ads.
- Google Voice: a free number for personal use in the US, usable in a browser or an app; setup asks you to link an existing US phone number.
To compare apps like these on numbers, countries, privacy and ads, use the checklist in how to choose a free text app.
What sign-up usually asks for
- An email address, or a sign-in with an existing Google or Apple account.
- Sometimes an existing phone number to confirm you're a real person. This is where people without a phone often get stuck.
- A location in a country the service supports; some apps check this when you sign up.
- A choice of area code or number from what's available.
- Permissions on your phone, such as notifications and access to contacts. You can usually decline contacts and type numbers by hand.
Requirements change, and an app may ask you to verify again if it suspects abuse.
Verification codes and app-based numbers
Plenty of people get a second number mainly to receive verification codes. That works on some sites, but others check the number type and refuse app-based or VoIP numbers, especially banks, payment apps and some messengers. The reasons are covered in why services reject some numbers.
If all you need is one code for a throwaway signup, a public number from the number list may do the job with no account. Anyone can read those inboxes, though, so they suit low-stakes accounts only. For an account you want to keep, a number that only you control is the safer choice.
Getting the most from a second number
Once you can send free text online from a second number, a few habits keep it useful:
- Send or receive a text every so often so the number counts as active.
- Introduce yourself in your first message, since contacts won't recognize the number.
- Use it where you'd rather not share your real number, such as classified ads, online marketplaces or a new dating match.
- Keep your main number for family, work, banking and account recovery.
- Never use a second number to pose as someone else or to keep contacting a person who has blocked you.
Need to receive a code? Free numbers
Click a number to open its public inbox, enter the number on the signup form, then press Update Messages on the number's page to fetch the code.
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