Help & FAQ

nothanumber gives you an extra phone number that lives in an app on your existing phone. You can make calls, send and receive texts, and (coming soon) buy travel data - all from one account and one balance. Think of it as a separate line for work, travel, privacy, or buying and selling, kept apart from your personal number.

No. nothanumber works on the phone you already have, through our app. Your new number runs over the internet (Wi-Fi or mobile data), so there's nothing physical to insert and no second handset to carry.

Your normal number is tied to a SIM card from a mobile network. A nothanumber is an internet-based number you control from the app. You can add one in minutes, use it alongside your real number, and keep your personal details private when you give it out.

Yes - nothanumber works on both iPhone and Android.

At launch we offer numbers in the UK, with US and EU options on the roadmap. The countries currently available are always shown in the app when you choose your number.

Anyone who wants a separate line without a separate phone. Common uses: keeping work and personal life apart, protecting your privacy when selling items online or signing up to services, having a local-feeling number while travelling, and running a side business.

Most people are up and running in under a minute. You choose your number, create an account, and it's assigned to you straight away.

You can explore and pick what you want before signing up. When you're ready to get your number, you create an account using your email, Apple, or Google. We keep this step as light as possible.

You choose the country and number type, and we assign you an available number. The exact options are shown in the app.

Yes. You can hold several numbers on a single account, each billed independently, and manage them all from one place.

You have the right to use your number as part of the service, but you don't own it. Numbers are licensed from our underlying telecoms suppliers and remain their property. This is standard for app-based numbers.

Number transfer (porting) isn't supported at the moment. We may add it in future, and we'll update our terms if we do.

Numbers carry a small recurring rental fee. If your balance can't cover the fee, your number may be suspended, and after a reasonable grace period it may be released. A released number is permanently removed and can't be recovered, so it's worth keeping a small balance topped up.

No. Once a number is released it may be reassigned to someone else and can't be restored.

Yes. You can make and receive voice calls from your nothanumber, with call history and contacts built in.

No. When you call from nothanumber, the other person sees your nothanumber, not your personal mobile number.

Calls support hold, mute, speaker, Bluetooth devices, and keypad tones, and integrate with your phone's native call screen. Voicemail is available too.

Yes, subject to the rates shown in the app. You always see the rate before you do anything that costs money.

Yes. Calls work over Wi-Fi or mobile data. A working internet connection is required, since the service is internet-based.

Yes. You can send and receive SMS messages from your nothanumber, with conversation search and archiving built in.

No. When you text from nothanumber, the other person sees your nothanumber, not your personal mobile number.

Yes, delivery and read receipts are supported.

Today the service supports standard SMS text messaging. Picture messaging (MMS), richer messaging (RCS), and business messaging are planned for the future (coming soon).

Yes, subject to the rates shown in the app. You always see the rate before sending anything that costs money.

Coming soon: you'll be able to buy eSIM data bundles for use abroad, directly in the app, with no physical SIM to swap. It's designed for travel, so you can have data in another country without paying roaming charges on your main line. This feature isn't live yet.

Most recent iPhones and Android phones support eSIMs. When the travel-data feature launches, the app will guide you through installation, and you can check your device's settings for eSIM support. (eSIM data is coming soon.)

Coming soon. When it launches, you'll buy the bundle for your destination in the app, follow the on-screen steps to install it, and your data will be ready to use for the period shown at purchase, with your remaining data visible any time.

No. eSIM bundles will be valid for a fixed period stated at purchase. Unused data won't carry over to a new bundle and expires at the end of the validity window - you can top up with another bundle whenever you need more. (eSIM data is coming soon.)

Once the feature is live: if an eSIM fails to activate because of a fault on our side or our supplier's side, contact support. Once confirmed, we'll issue a wallet credit for the amount paid or provide a replacement eSIM. (eSIM data is coming soon.)

Pricing is simple. You pay a small monthly fee to hold a number (from around £4.99 per month), with calls and texts charged for what you use, and lower-rate plans available for heavier users. Travel data bundles will be sold separately (coming soon). Current prices are always shown in the app or on our website before you buy.

Your account has a single balance - the wallet - that covers everything you use: calls, texts, data, and number rental. You top it up, and charges come out of it as you go. This keeps all your spending in one place.

Add money to your wallet with a debit or credit card, handled securely by our payment provider, Stripe. You can top up on our website or in the app, and your balance updates straight away. Every top-up shows in your transaction history. We never see or store your card details.

Both options exist. By default, calls and texts are pay-as-you-go from your wallet at the rates shown. You can also add a monthly plan or an all-in-one subscription that includes an allowance of minutes, texts, and data for a single recurring price, which can work out cheaper if you use the service a lot.

Yes. Rates are shown before any action that costs money, so there are no surprises.

We'll try to let you know when your balance is low. If it's not enough to cover a charge, the relevant service (such as outbound calling or texting) may be paused until you top up. Unpaid number rental fees can lead to a number being suspended and eventually released.

Monthly plans and subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless you cancel before the renewal date. You can cancel any time in the app or on our website. Your allowance stays available until the end of the current period, then it simply doesn't renew.

If something goes wrong - a call that failed but was still charged, or a faulty eSIM - contact support. Where a refund is due, the quickest outcome is usually a credit added to your wallet. We handle refunds directly, and a person reviews and approves every refund before it's issued. If you'd rather have the money returned to your original card than as wallet credit, just let us know.

Top-ups are generally non-refundable once the credit has been added, except where the law requires otherwise or in the case of a genuine error such as a duplicate charge. If you think a top-up was taken in error, contact support and we'll review it.

If someone calls your nothanumber and you don't pick up, they can leave a recorded message. You'll see your messages right inside the app and can play them back any time - a bit like visual voicemail on your iPhone.

Open the app, go to Voicemail, and use the switch next to the number you want. You can turn it on or off for each of your numbers separately. The change takes effect straight away.

In the app, on the Voicemail screen. Each message shows who called, the date, and how long it is. Tap the play button to listen. New messages you haven't heard yet are marked with a dot.

When you don't answer - for example your phone is off, you're busy, or you let it ring out. If you also have call forwarding switched on, we'll try forwarding the call first, and only fall back to voicemail if that isn't answered either.

Up to 2 minutes. The recording stops automatically after that, or when the caller hangs up or stays silent for a few seconds.

No. Receiving and listening to your voicemails is free.

Yes. Voicemail-to-text transcription is built in, so you can read a text version of each message in the app as well as listening to the audio.

Right now you can play your messages in the app. Saving and sharing may come later.

Voicemails are kept for 14 days, then automatically deleted. Be sure to listen to (or note down) anything important within that time.

Yes. Only you can access your messages - they're tied to your account and delivered securely.

Call forwarding lets you send calls to your nothanumber on to another phone number when you don't pick up in the app - so you never miss an important call, even when you're not near the app.

Open the app, go to Call Forwarding, choose the number you want to forward, enter the phone number to forward to, and set how long to ring the app first. You can turn it on or off any time.

UK numbers only (starting +44). For safety, premium-rate and special-rate numbers (like 09, 084, 087 and 070 numbers) can't be used as a forwarding destination.

Not at the moment - forwarding is UK-only for now.

That's up to you - you choose the ring time when you set it up. If the app isn't answered in that time, the call is forwarded.

If you also have voicemail switched on, the caller can leave a message. Otherwise they'll hear a short "nobody's available" message.

Your nothanumber. So if you forward a call to your personal mobile, it'll look like it's coming from your nothanumber - not the original caller's number.

Call forwarding is a paid add-on: £5 per month, which includes 150 minutes of forwarded calls each month. If you forward more than 150 minutes in a month, the extra minutes are charged from your wallet at our standard UK calling rate.

When we forward a call to your other phone, we're really placing a brand-new outbound call on your behalf - and our phone carrier charges us for every minute. The £5 a month covers the feature plus your first 150 forwarded minutes; anything beyond that just covers what we pay the carrier. It keeps the feature fair and sustainable.

The £5 monthly fee comes out of your nothanumber wallet and renews automatically each month. Any forwarded minutes beyond your 150 included minutes come out of your wallet too.

If there isn't enough in your wallet to cover the £5 at your next renewal, call forwarding is automatically switched off until you top up - so you're never charged for something you can't cover. We'll let you know by email and a notification on your phone. Just top up and you can switch it straight back on.

Yes - you can set forwarding for each of your numbers separately.

Quiet Hours let you make one of your numbers go quiet for incoming calls and texts, so your phone won't ring or buzz during times you'd rather not be disturbed. There are two ways: Do Not Disturb (an instant on/off switch) and Curfew (a repeating daily schedule, like every night 10pm - 7am).

Do Not Disturb is instant - flip it on and that number goes quiet straight away, staying quiet until you turn it off (great for a meeting, film, or nap). Curfew is a schedule that repeats on its own - you pick a start time, end time, and which days, and the number goes quiet during that window automatically. You can use either, or both.

Open the app, go to Calls, and tap Quiet hours. Choose the number you want, then turn on Do Not Disturb for an instant hush, or turn on Curfew and set your start time, end time, and days. Tap Save. You can change or turn it off any time.

Both - incoming calls and incoming text messages to that number.

Your phone won't ring. The caller is sent straight to voicemail (so they can leave a message), or hears a short "not available" message - that's your choice in the settings. You'll still see it as a missed call in the app afterwards.

Nothing is lost. The text still arrives and appears in your Messages as normal - we just hold back the notification so your phone doesn't buzz. When you next open the app, it's right there waiting.

No. You can always make calls and send texts as normal. Quiet Hours only ever affects what's coming in.

Emergency calls (999 and 112) are never affected by Quiet Hours - they're outgoing calls and always work. See the Emergency Calls FAQ for more.

No. To a caller it's just like you didn't pick up - they go to voicemail or hear "not available", exactly like an ordinary missed call. To someone texting you, nothing looks different at all.

Yes. Each number has its own settings, so you could keep one number quiet overnight while another stays fully active.

Yes. If your end time is earlier than your start time, we understand it runs overnight and ends the next morning - the app even shows an "Overnight - ends the next morning" note so it's clear.

Any combination you like - every day, just weeknights, weekends only, or specific days. Tap the day chips to pick.

Yes, your local time. Quiet Hours follows your phone's timezone (shown on the screen) and handles the clocks changing for daylight saving automatically, so "10pm" always means 10pm where you are.

Not yet - for now, Quiet Hours silences all incoming calls and texts to that number. Letting a few favourite contacts always get through is something we're planning for a later update (coming soon).

No - Quiet Hours is completely free.

Go back to Calls → Quiet hours and switch Do Not Disturb off, or turn the Curfew off. Changes take effect right away.

It stays on until you turn it off - it isn't on a timer. If you want something that switches itself off in the morning, use Curfew with a start and end time instead.

Yes. Missed calls show up in your Calls list, and any texts that came in quietly are waiting in your Messages - nothing is deleted or hidden, it just arrived without a buzz.

Yes, you can call 999 and 112 free of charge, and these calls are routed to the emergency services in the same way as other internet-based phone services. But because nothanumber is internet-based, there are important differences from a normal mobile or landline that you need to understand - please read the other emergency questions.

Not automatically. At present nothanumber doesn't automatically share your location with the emergency services on a 999 or 112 call. Be ready to tell the call handler your location clearly and quickly, especially if you're away from home. We're working with our network supplier to improve this in line with regulatory requirements.

Because the service runs over the internet, emergency calls may not work if you have no internet connection, during a power cut affecting your phone, router, or mobile signal, if your device or the app isn't working, or in the rare event of a service outage.

Please don't rely on nothanumber as your only way to reach emergency services. Keep access to an alternative, such as a mobile phone on a traditional network or a landline. This is especially important if you live somewhere with patchy coverage or if someone in your household may need urgent help.

999 and 112 are UK emergency numbers. If you're travelling, calling them through the app may not connect you to local emergency services. Always use the local emergency number for the country you're in, and where possible use a local SIM or call the local number directly.

You can enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for an extra layer of protection, and you can review and manage the devices signed in to your account from the app.

Yes. You can manage your devices in your profile and remove any you no longer use.

We take security seriously. Data is encrypted in transit, sensitive data is encrypted at rest, credentials are stored securely, and access is controlled and logged. We never store your card details; card payments are handled securely by our payment provider, Stripe.

Under UK GDPR you can access, correct, export, and delete your data, and object to or restrict certain processing. You can request a data export or delete your account in the app under Profile → Account Settings → Data and Privacy, or contact privacy@nothanumber.com. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Deleting your account is permanent. It releases any numbers on your account and forfeits any remaining wallet balance, except where the law says otherwise. Your account first goes through a grace period during which it's recoverable; after that your personal data is deleted or anonymised, except records we must keep for legal reasons such as financial records. If you think you're owed a balance, contact support before you delete.

Yes. nothanumber is for users aged 18 and over.

Open the app and go to Profile → Support, or tap the in-app chat. Our support combines an AI assistant that can handle common questions quickly with the option to reach a human for anything it can't resolve. You can also email support@nothanumber.com.

Some support is handled by an AI assistant, which can see summarised account information to help answer your questions and, within strict limits, take simple actions such as small wallet credits. Every automated action is logged and can be reviewed by a person, and you can always ask to speak to a human.

We use automated and AI-assisted monitoring to spot fraud and abuse, such as unusual call or message patterns that can signal a compromised account. If we suspect a problem, we may restrict an account or number to protect you and the network. Any such action is logged and reviewable, and you can contact support to dispute it.

The service is for lawful, personal use. Sending spam or unsolicited bulk messages, harassment, fraud, reselling the service without permission, and anything illegal are not allowed. The full list is in our Acceptable Use Policy.

If you receive an unwanted call or message from one of our numbers, please report it to abuse@nothanumber.com with the number involved, the date and time, and a description, and we'll investigate.