Privacy is a weird thing. We spend all day handing over our data to giant corporations for the "convenience" of a free app, but the second we need to make a phone call to a stranger, we suddenly realize how exposed our personal phone number makes us. It’s a direct line to your identity. Honestly, your phone number is arguably more valuable to a data broker than your social security number because it links your bank accounts, your two-factor authentication, and your literal physical location.
So, how do you call anonymously when you actually need to?
Maybe you're dealing with a flaky seller on Facebook Marketplace. Perhaps you're a whistleblower, or maybe you're just trying to get a quote for car insurance without being hounded by telemarketers for the next six months. Whatever the reason, the methods range from "quick and dirty" to "NSA-level encryption."
Most people think they know the tricks, but the landscape has shifted. Landlines are basically museum pieces now, and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has made it way easier—and paradoxically harder—to stay hidden.
The classic *67 trick (And why it’s mostly useless now)
We have to start with the "boomer" method. You know the one. You dial *67 before the number, and suddenly you’re "Private Caller." In the United States, this Vertical Service Code tells the carrier to withhold your Caller ID information from the receiving party.
It’s free. It’s instant.
But it’s also remarkably unreliable in 2026.
Here is the problem: *67 only hides your number from the person on the other end. It does absolutely nothing to hide your call from the service provider. More importantly, many people now use apps like TrapCall or Truecaller. These services are designed specifically to unmask blocked numbers. If the person you are calling has one of these apps, your "anonymous" call pops up on their screen with your full name, photo, and maybe even your LinkedIn profile.
Also, *67 doesn't work when calling 800 or 911 numbers. Those lines use Automatic Number Identification (ANI), which bypasses the privacy flag entirely. If you’re trying to prank an 800-number customer service line, they see you. They always see you.
Burner apps are the new standard
If you really want to know how do you call anonymously while maintaining some level of professional sanity, you have to look at secondary number apps. This isn't just for people in spy movies.
Apps like Burner, Hushed, or CloudSim give you a legitimate secondary VoIP number. You’re not "masking" your number; you’re using a completely different one. When the person looks at their phone, they see a real 10-digit number. They can call it back. They can text it. But it has zero connection to your actual SIM card or your personal billing address.
I’ve used Hushed for years when selling gear on Craigslist. The beauty of it is the "disposable" nature. Once the transaction is done, you just delete the number. It's gone. No more late-night "Is this still available?" texts.
But wait. There’s a catch.
Most of these apps require a subscription or a per-minute fee. More importantly, they aren't truly anonymous from a legal perspective. If you use a burner app to do something illegal, the app developer has logs of your IP address and your original phone number used for registration. They will hand that over to law enforcement in a heartbeat.
Google Voice: The "Middle Ground"
Google Voice is the most popular way to stay semi-anonymous, mostly because it’s free. You get a number, you can route it to your cell phone, and you can place calls through the app so the recipient only sees your Google number.
It’s great for business. It’s terrible for actual anonymity.
Why? Because it’s Google. They know exactly who you are. They have your search history, your emails, and your location data. If your goal is to hide your number from a local contractor, Google Voice is perfect. If your goal is to hide your identity from the "system," you’re barking up the wrong tree.
The Google Voice "Leaky" Problem
One thing people forget is that Google Voice often shows your real name if the recipient has you in their Google Contacts or if your "Caller ID by Google" profile is public. You might think you're being sneaky, but your high school graduation photo could still pop up on their screen.
Getting serious with "Silent Circle" and encrypted comms
When we talk about high-level privacy, we aren't just talking about hiding a phone number. We’re talking about metadata.
Whenever you make a standard cellular call, a "Call Detail Record" (CDR) is created. This record includes the time, duration, and the cell towers used by both parties. Even if you hide your number, the "trail" exists.
Experts in digital privacy, like those at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), often point toward end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) apps as the only real solution for true anonymity.
- Signal: This is the gold standard. Recommended by Edward Snowden and pretty much every security researcher worth their salt. Signal allows you to make voice calls that are encrypted. However, for a long time, you had to share your phone number to use it. Recently, Signal introduced "Usernames," which finally allows you to communicate without ever revealing your digits.
- Session: If Signal is the gold standard, Session is the "tinfoil hat" (in a good way) standard. It requires no phone number at all. Not even for registration. It uses an onion-routing network similar to Tor. It is, quite literally, the most anonymous way to talk to another human being over the internet.
- Threema: A Swiss-based app that doesn't require an email or phone number. You get a random ID. It costs a few dollars, which is actually a good thing—it means you aren't the product being sold.
The downside? The person on the other end has to have the app too. You can't use Signal to call your local pizza place anonymously.
The "Hardware" approach: Pre-paid SIMs
If you’re old school and want to know how do you call anonymously without using apps, you go to a convenience store. You buy a "no-contract" prepaid phone with cash.
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This is the classic "Burner."
However, in 2026, this is harder than it looks. Most prepaid carriers now require an "activation" process that often asks for an email or zip code. If you use your home Wi-Fi to activate it, you’ve just linked that "anonymous" phone to your home address via your IP.
To do this right:
- Buy the phone with cash.
- Activate it using public Wi-Fi at a library or cafe (not one you frequent).
- Never turn it on at your house.
The moment a burner phone pings a tower near your home, its "anonymity" drops significantly because patterns emerge. If "Phone A" and "Anonymous Phone B" travel together every day to your office, a simple algorithm can conclude they belong to the same person. This is called "correlation attack" in the world of signals intelligence.
Legal and Ethical Guardrails
Let’s be real for a second. There is a massive difference between privacy and harassment.
In the U.S., the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and various stalking laws make it very clear: using anonymity to harass, threaten, or defraud people is a crime. Federal law (18 U.S. Code § 223) specifically prohibits making anonymous calls with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass.
If you’re using these methods to bypass a "block" someone put on you, that’s not "privacy." That’s potentially a crime. Don't be that person.
What most people get wrong about spoofing
You’ve probably received a call from your own area code, maybe even your own prefix, only to find out it’s a scammer. This is "neighbor spoofing."
There are websites and services (like SpoofCard) that allow you to choose what number appears on the recipient's Caller ID. You could theoretically make it look like you’re calling from the White House.
While this sounds like the ultimate way to stay anonymous, it’s actually the most legally precarious. The TRACED Act was passed to crack down on this. Most carriers now use a technology called STIR/SHAKEN.
Essentially, STIR/SHAKEN is a digital "handshake" between carriers. If the call isn't "signed" by the originating carrier as legitimate, the receiving phone will often label it as "Scam Likely" or block it entirely. Spoofing is a dying art, and honestly, it’s mostly used by criminals now.
Actionable steps for your privacy
If you need to make an anonymous call today, here is the hierarchy of what you should actually do:
The "I just want to hide my number from a salesperson" Move:
Go into your iPhone or Android settings.
- iOS: Settings > Phone > Show My Caller ID > Toggle Off.
- Android: Phone App > Settings > Supplementary Services > Show Caller ID > Never.
This is cleaner than *67 because it applies to all outgoing calls until you turn it off.
The "I need a long-term secondary identity" Move:
Download Hushed or Burner. Pay the $5 for a month of service. You get a real number, it works for two-way communication, and it’s separate from your personal life. It’s the best balance of "normal" and "private."
The "I need absolute security" Move:
Use Signal with a username or Session. This bypasses the entire cellular network and its 100-year-old security flaws. You aren't just hiding a number; you're encrypting the entire conversation.
The "I'm calling an international or sensitive entity" Move:
Use a VPN (like Mullvad or IVPN) and a VoIP service like Skype or Google Voice on a desktop browser. By masking your IP address first, you add a layer of separation between your physical location and the call.
Privacy isn't about having something to hide. It's about having the right to choose what you share. In an era where every "free" service is a data trap, taking five minutes to set up a secondary number is just basic digital hygiene.
Check your phone settings now. If your "Show My Caller ID" is on, you’re giving away a piece of your identity with every single dial. Maybe it’s time to flip the switch.