How long should you rent a phone number for?

Which length fits which situation

Two weeks bought one after the other cost $15.98, more than a month at $12.99. Three months cost $38.97, more than a year at $34.99.

How to tell how long an account will keep texting

An app that only checks the number at sign-up needs it for minutes. Most apps use it again: to sign you in on a new phone, to reset a password, or when a security check flags something. Each of those sends a code to the same number.

• A day is enough when you can add an email address or an authenticator app straight after sign-up and remove the number from the account.
• A week or a month fits when you’ll be signing in from new devices for a while, or the app asks for the number again after a few days.
• A year fits when the number stays on the account as its way of proving it’s you. Read whether to use a temporary number for 2FA before you rely on one that way.

Extending a number

You can extend a number at any time before it ends, by a day, a week, a month or a year. The extra time is added to the end date, so extending early loses nothing. Extensions are charged straight away.

Extend rather than buying a second number. A new number is a different number, and the account will keep texting the old one.

Auto-renew

Auto-renew is off unless you turn it on, at checkout or on the number’s page. When it’s on, the number renews by the same length of time at the price you first paid, even if prices go up later. We email you before each renewal with the date and the exact amount, and you can turn it off at any time before then.

A one-day number can’t renew by a day; it can renew by a week or longer. If a renewal payment is declined, we try your other saved cards, tell you, and try once more before the number ends. If nothing works, the number ends and you owe nothing.

What happens when the rental ends

The number stops receiving texts at the time shown on its page. The texts it received stay in your account for 7 days, and the number can then be given to someone else, who would receive any code an app sends to it. We email you before it ends. What to change on your accounts first is in what happens when a temporary number expires.

When you’re charged, and when you can cancel

Whichever length you choose, the price is held on your card, not taken, until the first text arrives or 24 hours pass. If we can’t supply a number, nothing is charged.

If the number has received no texts, you can cancel it from 5 minutes to 24 hours after you got it. We ask our supplier to cancel it too; they usually accept and all your money comes back, but now and then they refuse and the number stays yours until its end date. Once a text has arrived, unused time isn’t refunded, including when the number ends or you turn off auto-renew. The full rules are in the refund policy.

Questions people ask

Can I rent a US phone number for just one day?

Yes. 1 day costs $3.99. It can’t auto-renew by a day, but you can extend it by a day, a week, a month or a year before it ends.

Can I rent a number for a few hours?

No shorter length is sold: the shortest is 1 day at $3.99. If you only need one code in the next few minutes and never again, a per-code service may cost less.

Can I keep the same number for more than a year?

Yes. Extend it before it ends, or turn on auto-renew, which renews at the price you first paid. Once a number has ended it can be given to someone else, so don’t let it lapse.

What if I rent for a year and the app won’t send a code?

If the number has received no texts, cancel it from 5 minutes to 24 hours after you got it. Our supplier usually accepts the cancellation and the whole price comes back; occasionally it refuses and the number stays active.