A separate number for verification codes

Every app that asks for a phone number is another place your real number can leak. A 2ndNumber line takes that role instead, receiving the codes for Google, Apple, Microsoft, PayPal, banks and games.

Incoming SMS are free and appear in a web inbox, in the app and in your email. You can read a code on a laptop without touching the phone that holds your own SIM.

These are P2P numbers, not A2P bulk lines, and the service says it follows STIR/SHAKEN rules against spam calling. Some services still refuse virtual numbers, so keep your main number as a backup for the most important accounts.

UK landline numbers can send SMS but not receive it, so choose a mobile-type number when your goal is codes.

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