Reading TextNow Messages Online, and a Free Option for Codes
To read your TextNow messages online, sign in to TextNow's own web version with your TextNow account, since that's where your conversations are stored. TemporarySMS is a separate site and can't see, recover or display messages from any TextNow account.
If you only used TextNow to receive a verification code, though, a free temporary number may handle that job without an account. Here's how the two compare.
Getting to your own TextNow messages
TextNow is a texting and calling app that gives you a US or Canadian phone number, and it also has a web version that runs in a browser. To see your conversations on a computer:
- Go to TextNow's official website and choose the option to log in.
- Sign in with the same account you use in the mobile app.
- Your TextNow messages should load in the browser, linked to your TextNow number.
Screens change from time to time, so follow TextNow's help pages if yours looks different. If you can't sign in or messages are missing, use TextNow's own password reset and support. Be wary of any other website claiming it can show someone's messages without their login.
On a shared or library computer, sign out when you finish. Anyone who uses the browser after you could otherwise open your conversations.
TextNow and TemporarySMS are different tools
| TextNow | TemporarySMS | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Your own number, tied to an account | Shared public numbers, with no account |
| Who can read messages | You, after signing in | Anyone who opens the number's page |
| Texting and calls | Two-way texting and calling | Receive-only texts; no sending, no calls |
| How long the number lasts | Set by TextNow's current rules; free texting apps commonly reclaim numbers left unused | Listed while its provider keeps it online, then it drops off |
| Suited to | Ongoing conversations | A one-off code you don't mind being public |
If you only needed TextNow for a verification code
Some people install a texting app just to get past a single SMS check. If that's you, a public number can be quicker, with no download or account:
- Pick a number on the number list that shows recent activity.
- Enter it where the service asks for your phone number.
- On that number's page, press Update Messages; new texts load in about 20 seconds.
- Copy the code that matches the service's name and the time you requested it.
The trade-off is that the code sits on a public page, and you can't count on the number still being listed next month.
When services refuse app-based and VoIP numbers
Many services look up what kind of number you enter. Numbers from texting apps are often classed as VoIP, and some sites won't accept them, so a TextNow number may be turned away. The same can happen with the numbers here, which come from various providers, aren't labelled by type and are shared by many people.
If one number is refused, another sometimes works, but strict services such as banks, payment apps and some messaging apps may reject both kinds. The page on number acceptance explains the checks involved. Either way, check whether the service offers another route, such as an email code, before trying several numbers in a row.
Which one to use
- Stay with TextNow when you need to send texts, take calls, keep a conversation going or have messages only you can read.
- Use a temporary number for a quick signup code on a low-stakes site where you won't need the number again.
- Use your own carrier number for banking, payments, your main email and anything you'd need to recover.
For other apps that give you a free second number for texting, see free second-number apps.
Free numbers available now
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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