Telephones and the Internet play an important role in both private life and business. With the widespread use of mobile devices and messaging operations, Short Message Service (SMS) has become an integral part of our daily lives. For example, to order food through a mobile app, you need to confirm your number by receiving a short code via SMS. The situation is the same with registering on various websites, social networks or messengers.
However, using a private phone number for registration purposes can lead to unpleasant consequences such as hacking, spamming or other fraud. Therefore, to protect their personal data from third parties, many users have started using SMS verification services and virtual phone numbers.
What is a Virtual Phone Number?
Virtual phone numbers (burner phone numbers) are an online service in the form of a phone number that can be used without a physical SIM card over the Internet. They are available only in virtual space and are not tied to your device, location or personal data in any way. Most often these phone numbers are used to receive SMS messages, but depending on the provider they can also be used to receive/send calls or voicemail.
Virtual phone numbers are provided by third-party providers and offer a number of advantages for both private and business use.
How do Virtual Phone Numbers Work?
The process of how virtual numbers work is as simple as possible from the user’s side and usually looks like this:
- Registration on the provider’s website. You open the online service that provides this service and register. For example, to register on SMS-man you need to specify only your e-mail address.
- Requesting a phone number. Now you need to choose the region of your mobile operator and the service from where you need to receive SMS. After that the system allocates you a phone number, which can be used for a limited time (it will be active for 20 minutes).
- Waiting for SMS. You enter the provided phone number on a website or application that requires SMS confirmation. Then you wait for the verification code, which should arrive within a few minutes.
- Receiving SMS. An SMS message containing a confirmation code is sent to this phone number and, thanks to special software on the provider’s side, is automatically forwarded to your personal account on the online platform where you can view it.
- Completion of activation. You copy the code you just received and use it to complete the registration process on the selected website or app.
Once the confirmation process is complete, the virtual phone number becomes invalid and cannot be used by other users.
Advantages of Using Virtual Phone for receiving SMS
We won’t be able to cover all the benefits of a virtual phone number, but if we highlight the top 3 main reasons to use it:
- Increased security. One of the most important benefits of using them is protecting your personal data from third parties. For example, by using a separate phone number for various tasks such as online shopping or social network registration, you can hide your private phone number from annoying spam and marketing emails.
- Global Availability. Virtual phone numbers are not limited by geographical boundaries. This means that you can get a phone number with any area code from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection.
- Cost-effectiveness. Acquiring and using virtual numbers can be more cost effective than maintaining multiple traditional phone lines and buying new SIM cards.
These are not all the benefits of using this technology. But it is enough to realize that the service of virtual phone number can help you to secure your actions on the Internet and save not only money, but also time.
Conclusion
In our article, we have tried to talk as much as possible about the virtual phone number service and its benefits. As you might have already realized, the service is a valuable tool for increasing anonymity of security on the Internet. Due to its flexibility, global accessibility and cost-effectiveness, these innovative communication tools can be useful for both individuals and businesses.
