How to Create an Email Without a Phone Number: 10 Free Providers Compared

Yes, you can still create an email without a phone number, but not with every provider. Tuta doesn’t ask for one; Proton Mail, Outlook.com and AOL can send their code to another email address instead; and Gmail often treats the number as optional. Yahoo, GMX, mail.com and Zoho Mail won’t open an account without a mobile number, and iCloud Mail needs an Apple Account, which usually asks for one.

Below is what each provider’s own pages say about phone numbers at sign-up, why they ask, and what to do when one insists. When a provider does insist, a second number can receive the code instead of yours.

Which email providers let you sign up without a phone number?

Checked against each provider’s own pages on November 2, 2026:

How to create a free email without a phone number

Tuta (formerly Tutanota) is the clearest case. Its blog says “Tutanota does not ask for any kind of verification when signing up”: open Tuta in a browser, sign up for the free plan, pick an address and a strong password, and write down your recovery code. Two things to know:

• Some new accounts wait. Tuta says “Sometimes accounts are automatically marked for approval to prevent spammers from signing up,” often when you sign up through Tor or a VPN. Tuta asks you to wait 48 hours, because “support cannot speed up this process”; if the account still isn’t approved after two days, contact Tuta’s support team.
• Sign in regularly. “Free accounts are deleted if you do not log in for a period longer than six months.”

Proton Mail may ask you to prove you’re human, but a phone is only one of the options. Its sign-up steps:

1. Go to account.proton.me/signup and select the Free plan.
2. Enter a username and create a password.
3. Prove you’re human if Proton asks. Its human verification page lists a CAPTCHA, or a code sent “to your phone number or secondary email address.” Pick the CAPTCHA or the email if you see them. Proton decides which options appear: you’re “more likely to see only email or SMS verification” if you use the Tor browser or try to create multiple accounts.
4. Download your Recovery Kit. “If you lose or forget your password, you’ll need your recovery phrase to get back into your account.”

No other email address yet? Start with Tuta, then use that inbox wherever a provider offers to send the code to another email, as Proton, Outlook.com and AOL can.

When can you skip the phone on Gmail, Outlook.com and AOL?

• Gmail. Google’s sign-up steps say “Optional: Add and verify a phone number for your account,” but another help page adds that “sometimes phone verification is required to confirm you’re a real person.” Our guide to creating a Gmail account without a phone number covers both cases.
• Outlook.com. When Microsoft asks you to secure the account, it wants an alternate email or phone, and “It doesn’t have to be your email or phone number.” Microsoft also says it “will start phasing out SMS as a method of authentication and account recovery for personal Microsoft accounts.” See how to create an Outlook account without a phone number.
• AOL Mail. AOL’s instructions read “Enter the code we send to your phone or other email.” The full steps are in our AOL Mail sign-up guide.

Which email providers require a phone number?

• Yahoo Mail. Yahoo asks for “a password, date of birth, and a mobile number,” even if you sign up with an email address from another provider (Yahoo’s help page). You verify the number during sign-up. More in our guide to Yahoo verification codes.
• iCloud Mail. You need an Apple Account first. On the web, Apple asks for “a phone number that you can always access” and has you verify it. On an iPhone, two-factor authentication needs “at least one trusted phone number on file where you can receive verification codes,” and if you skip it, “you’ll be prompted to do this later in Settings.” Our guide to creating an Apple Account without a phone number covers each route.
• GMX and mail.com. Both help centers say you can’t register without a mobile number. Their sign-up steps don’t mention a code: they say they’ll use the number only “to recover your password or to contact you about your account’s security,” so give them one you’ll keep, such as a long-term rental on Auto Renew.
• Zoho Mail. For a free personal account, Zoho asks for your phone number, “which is required for verification,” and sends you a code by SMS.

Why do email providers ask for a phone number?

• To keep spammers out. Google asks “to help protect you and stop spammers,” and Tuta, which doesn’t ask, admits that its anonymous sign-up “makes it more difficult to prevent spammers from signing up.”
• To get you back in. Apple says the number can help “recover your account if needed,” and GMX and mail.com use it for password resets.

Providers also track how often one number is used. Proton “can detect if an email or phone number is being reused repeatedly,” and Google may turn a number down with “This phone number cannot be used for verification” or “This phone number has been used too many times for verification”; see what Google’s phone number errors mean.

When a provider insists: use a second number

If a provider won’t let you past the phone step, or you want a recovery number that isn’t your personal one, a non-VoIP number can receive the code. It’s a real mobile number from a US or UK carrier, so the provider sees an ordinary phone. Every PVADeals number is fresh and has never been sold before.

The PVADeals app lists these email providers: Google (Gmail), Microsoft (Outlook), Yahoo, AOL, Proton, GMX, mail.com and Zoho, plus Apple for the Apple Account behind iCloud Mail.

1. Create a free PVADeals account and add credits: crypto from $3, or a card through Stripe from $5.
2. Choose the email provider and the country: the United States or the United Kingdom.
3. Pick a rental length. A short-term number lasts 20 minutes; a long-term number lasts 3, 7, 14 or 30 days.
4. Enter the number on the provider’s sign-up screen and choose to get the code by text message. PVADeals numbers receive SMS only, so don’t pick a phone call.
5. Copy the code from your PVADeals dashboard, where it appears as soon as it arrives. You don’t need a SIM card, and it works from any country.

Prices depend on the website, the country and the rental length: see the price estimator. For Gmail in particular, read our guide to a temporary number for Gmail verification.

Short-term or long-term number?

A short-term number (20 minutes, one website) is enough for a one-off sign-up code. It can sometimes be reused later, but that isn’t guaranteed.

A long-term number (3, 7, 14 or 30 days, renewable with Auto Renew) receives unlimited SMS while it’s live, so it can stay on the account as your recovery number, which matters for Yahoo, GMX, mail.com and Apple. An All services plan gives you one number for any website, by the month.

How to keep an email account you made without a phone number

An account with no phone number, or with a number you no longer have, needs other ways back in:

• Add a recovery email. Google says “updated recovery info makes it much more likely you’ll get your account back.”
• Add a passkey or an authenticator app. Microsoft says “Verified email and passkeys ensure users can recover access even if they change phone numbers or lose devices.”
• Replace a rented number before it expires, or keep a long-term rental going with Auto Renew. For Gmail, see how to change the verification number on Gmail.

If the verification code doesn’t arrive

• Check the number or address you typed, wait a few minutes and, if the code went by email, check your spam folder before asking for a new code, as AOL advises.
• Choose a text message, not a call: PVADeals numbers receive SMS only.
• Try the other option if the screen offers one, such as an email instead of a phone.
• Try a different number. If an eligible PVADeals number receives no SMS during the rental, its cost goes back to your balance automatically as store credit.

More fixes: why verification codes don’t arrive.

Your email, without your personal number

Tuta, Proton, Outlook.com and AOL offer a way to sign up without a phone number, and Gmail often treats it as optional. When Yahoo, GMX, mail.com, Zoho, iCloud or Google insist, a real US or UK number keeps your own number private. See the price estimator and our US and UK phone numbers, or read how to get a temporary phone number for verification.