How to Hide Caller ID on iPhone and Android

Hiding caller ID is one of those features that sounds like privacy and is mostly etiquette. It stops the person you dial from seeing your number on their screen. That is the whole effect, and it is useful for exactly the situations where that is what you wanted.

We sell numbers, so the second half of this page has an obvious interest behind it. The settings below are the same for everybody and cost nothing.

iPhone

• Open Settings and find the Phone section. On recent iOS versions it sits under Apps, then Phone. On older ones it is a top level Settings entry.
• Tap Show My Caller ID and switch it off. That is it. It applies to every outgoing call on that line until you switch it back.
• With two lines, check both. Dual SIM phones show the setting per line, and hiding it on one does nothing for the other.
• If the option is not there at all: your carrier does not support it on that line. This is common on some prepaid and MVNO plans, and it is not a bug in your phone. Use the per call prefix below instead.

Android

Android wording changes between manufacturers more than it should, so look for the idea rather than the exact words.

• Open the Phone app and go to its settings. Usually the three dot menu, then Settings.
• Look for Calling accounts, then your SIM. On Samsung it may be Supplementary services. On Pixel it is Calling accounts.
• Find Caller ID and choose Hide number. Some phones phrase it as Additional settings, then Caller ID, with the options Network default, Hide number and Show number.
• Network default is not the same as hidden. It means whatever your carrier does by default, which is almost always to show your number.

Hiding it for one call only

Often better than flipping the setting, because you will forget to flip it back.

• United States and Canada: dial star, six, seven, then the number, with no space.
• Many GSM countries: dial hash, three, one, hash, then the number.
• United Kingdom: dial one, four, one, then the number.

If none of them works, the carrier is blocking the feature on your line, and no amount of retyping will change that.

• Withholding your number answers the question of who sees it. It does not answer the question of whether they pick up.

What hiding caller ID does not do

This is the part that gets left out, and it is the part that decides whether this feature is the right tool at all.

• Your carrier still knows. The call is in their records with both numbers on it, exactly as before. Caller ID is a display instruction, not anonymity.
• Emergency services still see it. By design, everywhere, and that is a feature rather than a leak.
• Some business systems still see it. Certain corporate and toll free setups receive the originating number regardless of the privacy flag.
• It does nothing for texts. An SMS carries your number. There is no equivalent switch.
• It does nothing for apps. A WhatsApp or Signal call shows your account, which is tied to your number anyway.
• Many people will not answer. Withheld numbers get screened out as spam constantly, and some phones reject them automatically.

When a second number is the better answer

Hiding works when you need to make a call and do not care about being called back. The moment a callback matters, it fails, and that covers most real situations.

• Selling something to strangers. You want them to reach you, just not on your main line. Hidden caller ID gets you ignored instead.
• Signing up for something that texts you. Hiding does nothing here. The service needs a number that can receive.
• Dealing with a company you do not trust with your main number. Give them a different number rather than a hidden one.
• Travelling and dealing with hosts, drivers and clinics. They need to call you back, and often will not answer an unknown foreign number either.

What we sell, and its limits

Our number plans put a real carrier number on an eSIM, so it behaves like any mobile line: it rings without an internet connection, it receives verification codes, and services do not filter it the way they filter VoIP. At the time of writing, plans with a number start at $14.84, the Europe plans are $37.38 for 20GB over 30 days with calls and 200 texts, and Global Lite is $56.07 across 66 countries. European and global plans carry a French +33 number, shown on the plan card before you pay. Data plans cover 180+ countries from about $1.20 depending on destination. No account, no email, no documents, QR on the page, crypto only: USDT on TRC-20, BEP-20, Arbitrum and Solana, plus BTC, ETH, SOL, USDC, DAI, XMR and TON. No Lightning.

Limits, plainly. The number lives as long as the plan, so it is not where you anchor a decade of accounts. A second number does not make your phone private: the handset still hands the network its IMEI and its location on every connection. And hiding caller ID on a second number is still possible and still has all the same drawbacks listed above.

→ Thinking about a separate line rather than a hidden one? Read how a second phone number actually works

FAQ

How do I hide my caller ID on iPhone?

Open Settings, go to the Phone section, and turn off Show My Caller ID. It applies to all outgoing calls on that line. If the option is missing, your carrier does not support it on your plan, and you can use a per call prefix instead.

How do I hide my number on Android?

Open the Phone app settings, then Calling accounts or Supplementary services, then your SIM, then Caller ID, and choose Hide number. The wording varies by manufacturer. Note that Network default usually means your number will be shown.

How do I hide my number for one call only?

Dial a prefix before the number. Star six seven in the United States and Canada, hash three one hash in many GSM countries, one four one in the United Kingdom. This avoids leaving the setting switched off and forgetting about it.

Does hiding caller ID make me anonymous?

No. Your carrier still records both numbers, emergency services still receive yours, and some business phone systems get it regardless. It only controls what appears on the screen of the person you called.

Does it hide my number in text messages?

No. SMS carries your number and there is no equivalent setting. If you do not want a service to have your number, you need a different number rather than a hidden one.

Why does nobody answer when I withhold my number?

Because withheld numbers are heavily associated with spam, and some phones reject them automatically. If being called back matters, a second number that is simply not your main one works far better than hiding.