Virtual Phone Number: What It Is and How to Get One

A virtual phone number is a phone number that isn’t tied to a single phone or SIM card. You use it in an app, in a browser or on another device, and calls and texts reach you over the internet. Twilio puts it simply: “A virtual phone number is a standard telephone number that is not locked down to a specific phone.”

Most virtual numbers are VoIP numbers, and that matters if you want one for verification codes: WhatsApp, OpenAI, Microsoft and many other apps refuse VoIP numbers. This guide explains the kinds of virtual phone numbers, how to get one, and which kind to use for what.

What is a virtual phone number?

A regular mobile number belongs to the SIM card in your phone. A virtual number doesn’t: the provider sends its calls and texts wherever you use it. Twilio says a virtual number “can route a voice call or text message to any phone or workflow.”

People use virtual numbers to:

• keep their personal number private when they sign up for apps, sell online or date;
• have a local number in another country;
• keep work calls apart from personal ones;
• receive verification codes without giving out their own number.

Types of virtual phone numbers

The calling-app providers say so themselves. TextNow refers to “TextNow’s VoIP phone numbers”, and Credit Karma lists “non-fixed VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) numbers, like Google Voice or Skype” among the numbers it can’t send codes to.

How to get a virtual phone number

1. Download a virtual phone number app. Google Voice “gives you a phone number for calls, texts, and voicemails”, and “If you’re in the US, you can choose your own number.” TextNow and similar apps give you a number to use over Wi-Fi or mobile data. This is the cheapest way to get a number for calls and texts with people.
2. Sign up for a business phone system if you need numbers for a team, with call routing and extensions. Twilio’s example: businesses “can give each employee their own phone number”.
3. Add an eSIM. It isn’t virtual in the VoIP sense, but it’s a second number with no extra SIM card: Apple says “An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows you to use a cellular plan from your carrier without having to use a physical nano-SIM.” See how to get a second phone number.
4. Rent a non-VoIP number for verification codes. It’s a real mobile number from a carrier that you use online, so it receives codes from apps that refuse VoIP numbers. That’s what PVADeals offers.

Can you use a virtual number for verification?

Often not, if the number is VoIP. Many apps look up a number’s line type before they send a code and refuse VoIP numbers outright. Here’s what some of them say in their own help pages:

The calling apps agree. TextNow says: “Some services do not support TextNow numbers for verification or for setting up Two-Factor Authentication.” Hushed warns that its numbers “are NOT guaranteed to work with third-party verification due to blocks implemented by certain services”.

So for verification codes, the virtual number needs to be a non-VoIP one: a real mobile line that you use online. A carrier lookup shows it as mobile, because that is what it is. To check a number you already have, see how to check if a number is VoIP.

Free virtual phone numbers

Free virtual numbers come from two places, and both have catches:

• Free calling apps give you your own number, but it’s VoIP, and you can lose it if you don’t use it: TextNow says “we recycle inactive numbers tied to our free Wi-Fi service.” It also says you’ll “receive most verification codes by activating a TextNow SIM card or purchasing one of the following recurring subscriptions”, so free numbers aren’t meant for codes.
• Free receive-SMS websites list public numbers. Anyone can read the codes, and popular websites block those numbers quickly. Our free non-VoIP numbers are public too: fine for a test, never for an account you want to keep.

US and UK virtual phone numbers

A virtual US phone number works from anywhere, which is why most people outside the US use one for apps that only accept US numbers. PVADeals rents real US and UK mobile numbers per website, and the texts appear on your dashboard, so you don’t need to live in either country or own their SIM cards.

• US numbers: 20 minutes from $0.09, or 3 to 30 days from $0.70. See our US phone numbers.
• UK numbers: the same rental lengths. See our UK phone numbers.

How to get a virtual number for verification from PVADeals

1. Create a free PVADeals account and add credits: crypto from $3, or a card through Stripe from $5.
2. Choose the website you want to verify, and the country: the United States or the United Kingdom.
3. Pick a rental. A short-term number lasts 20 minutes, from $0.09. A long-term number lasts 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, from $0.70, and you can renew it. An All services number works on any website for a month: $12.99 in the US, $6.99 in the UK.
4. Enter the number on the website and ask for the code by text message. PVADeals numbers receive SMS only, not calls.
5. Copy the code from your dashboard, where it appears as soon as it arrives.

If an eligible number receives no SMS during the rental, its cost comes back to your balance automatically as store credit.

Short-term, long-term or All services?

• Short-term (20 minutes) suits a one-off code for an account you won’t need to verify again.
• Long-term (3 to 30 days, renewable) keeps the same number, so the app can text you again at your next login. Turn on auto-renew to keep it.
• All services (a month) gives you one virtual number for every website, which is handy when you sign up to several.

Related guides

• How to get a second phone number: five ways compared
• Burner numbers: what they are and which ones still receive codes
• VoIP vs non-VoIP numbers
• Temporary phone number for verification, with guides for 40+ websites