Fanytel - Virtual Phone Number

A second number kept apart from your own

If you are deciding whether to give your personal number to a website, a seller or a business contact, a second number is one way to keep the two apart. Fanytel issues a virtual phone number that you can hand out in place of your own. The listing aims it at people who want privacy for personal calls and texts, and at people who want to keep business lines separate from personal ones.

The listing also points to people who want a local number in another country, so that a business can appear to have a presence there. That is the reason the choice of countries matters.

Choosing a number and what it costs

Numbers are offered for the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. The listing gives monthly prices of $0.99 for a US number, $1.99 for Canada, $1.99 for the UK and $6.99 for Australia. Each number is therefore a recurring monthly charge.

A VIP number is a separate option. The listing describes it as a more distinctive number for personal or professional use, available in the same four countries. It carries a one-time setup fee, starting at $9.

The listing also advertises 24/7 customer support alongside the number options.

Calls and texts on the number

Incoming calls and texts to the virtual number are listed as free. The number also has SMS capability, so it handles text messages as well as calls.

Outgoing calls and texts to other countries are the other side of the service. The listing says these are offered at competitive rates to more than 150 countries. Its examples include the USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Egypt, Brazil and Mexico.

Receiving verification codes from apps

The app is also listed for SMS verification. That means receiving the text codes that apps and online services send when you sign up, so those codes go to the virtual number and not to your own.

How the listing describes privacy and data

The listing states complete anonymity, advanced SSL encryption and GDPR compliant data handling. These are the developer's own statements and are presented here as claims.

The listing says the service has over 1 million users worldwide. On Google Play it is shown with 5,000,000+ installs.