How To Make Your Phone Number Unsearchable: 10 Ways

Key Takeaways: 

• The best way to make your number unsearchable is to remove it from people search and data broker sites by filling out opt-out forms. 

• Reducing your number’s online visibility helps limit exposure to scammers, hackers, and identity fraud. 

• It’s impossible for your number to be 100% unsearchable, but you can take steps to make it as difficult as possible for people to find your digits online. 

Your phone number is one of the most important things you want to keep safe on the internet. If hackers, cybercriminals, or unwanted people get ahold of your digits, the door is open for them to discover your personal information, attempt to scam you, harass you, and more. 

It’s worth taking steps to reduce how exposed your number is—ideally, making it harder to find in the first place. 

Why Should You Make Your Number Unsearchable? 

You may not know it, but your phone number is much easier to look up on Google than you think. Even if you aren’t super active on social media or the internet as a whole, you’d be surprised at what data you have stored online. 

In a world where privacy is turning into a luxury rather than the norm and cyber crimes are a serious issue, there are plenty of reasons to reduce your number’s visibility wherever possible.

What People Can Do With Your Phone Number

A better question might be what people can’t do with your phone number. Unfortunately, once someone has it, they may be able to invade your privacy, access personal information, or commit fraud.

Phone numbers are uniquely linked to your online accounts as well as your public records. This means if someone has your number, they can possibly get access to a wide variety of your personal information. 

So, even if you can deal with a few telemarketers, trust that’s only the beginning of what people can do with your number. 

SIM Swapping

Your phone number is linked to the SIM card within your phone. That’s what directs calls and texts sent to that number to your specific device. If a hacker has your phone number, they can call your phone carrier store pretending to be you and ask to reroute your number to their own SIM card. This means any calls or texts intended for you go to them. 

It also makes it easier for them to impersonate you and use your identity to scam your loved ones. And once they have control of your number, they can carry out other types of fraud or account takeovers.

Phishing

Phishing is an extremely common and harmful type of scam in which the scammer acts like a real person or company and asks you for money or personal information. Phishers do their best to seem legitimate, so you trust them and follow their instructions. 

Phishers will either email, text, or call you to attempt their scam. This means if a phisher gets your number, they can target you with scam texts and calls in hopes you’ll respond and share sensitive information. 

Account Hacking

Having access to your phone number can give hackers a major advantage when trying to breach your online accounts. A major aspect of how they do this with your number is by SIM swapping first, then using two-factor authentication (2FA) to log into your email or other account by sending a text to what’s now essentially their number. 

If this gives them access to your email, it also means they can log into almost any of your accounts by resetting your password or using 2FA again. More ambitious hackers may even go for sensitive accounts like your bank/credit card or social media. 

Once your account is hacked, hackers can try to commit financial fraud, impersonate you on social media, make unauthorized purchases under your name, etc. And you might have to shut down your account or spend a long time ensuring it's secure once again. 

Identity Theft

Identity theft is a serious risk. If someone has your number, they can use it to look up and find other information about you on people search sites, such as your address, family members’ names, and more. They can also hack into your accounts or perform a SIM swap as listed above. 

Once they have access to your phone number via that swap or find enough information about you online, they can steal your identity. From there, they may attempt financial fraud, try to scam your friends and family, or really do whatever they want under your name.

Stalking

Since people-search sites often include your address along with your phone number, all someone needs to stalk you is your number. What began as a harmless data entry about you online can turn into something seriously dangerous and disruptive to your life. That’s a strong reason to make your number harder to find. 

10 Ways To Make Your Phone Number Unsearchable

Now that you’re fully aware of the risks of having your phone number visible online, here are some ways to protect your privacy by making your number harder to find. 

1. Delete Your Profiles on People Search Sites

People-search sites are websites that comb through public records and online data to compile profiles on everyday people. Luckily, due to state laws, all of these legal sites have to have opt-out options. This means you can request that your profile be taken down. 

To make sure your number is on its way to being unsearchable, you’ll have to go to each and every one of these sites and follow the steps to take your profile down. 

A few sites to start with include: 

• Whitepages
• Truthfinder
• BeenVerified
• Spokeo
• CocoFinder
• People Finder Free

There are many more of these search sites out there. If you’re committed to removing your information from all of them, start by searching the most popular sites. 

Go through ranked lists to prioritize which sites you remove your information from. You may have to check these sites every few months to make sure no new profiles for you have been created. 

To actually remove your profile, you’ll have to look up and follow specific instructions for each site. Some will have opt-out forms you can find after searching up your profile, some you may have to call, and others have a more indirect process. 

2. Remove Your Information From Data Broker Sites

People-search sites aren’t the only sites that collect your data. Most of these sites collect and license user data, often sharing it with third parties rather than publishing it directly. Just like with people-search sites, you can also do your best to opt out of data broker websites. 

Opting out of these sites is a less straightforward process. You have to start by identifying which sites your information is on, which can be difficult and time-consuming to determine. A good way to start is by searching your name and number on Google and seeing what results pop up. If you can’t find a profile, that’s a good sign. 

Known data broker sites include: 

• RocketReach
• Acxiom
• LexisNexis
• PeopleFinders

You can still contact data broker sites to see if they have your number on file and request to opt out. But again, this is an extremely time-consuming process. You may want to look into a data removal service to avoid obscure data brokers having your number. 

3. Use a Data Removal Service

If you want to save time by avoiding having to look up and remove your profile on every people-search and data broker site, you might want to use a data removal service. These services send automated opt-out requests to people-search sites and data brokers, often identifying listings you’d have trouble finding on your own. 

A data removal service will help minimize your online presence by targeting any and all personal information that appears online, not just your phone number. Security.org has compiled a list of the best data removal services. Since these are paid services, you’ll want to take a look through their list to find the company that’s best for your needs. 

4. Use a Second Phone Number

A great strategy you can use to reduce the number of times your real number appears online is with a second phone number app like Burner. By using a second number in place of your main one when signing up for accounts, using online chat services, and talking to strangers, you greatly reduce the risk of your real number being discovered by the wrong people. 

If you choose to go the second number route and notice that your Burner number is appearing on people-search sites, you can always delete it and get a new one. It’s impossible to use the internet to its fullest without having any phone number at all, so using a Burner phone number is the smartest option for keeping your main number safe. 

5. Hide Your Caller ID

Another option you have to help keep your phone number private is to hide your caller ID when making outgoing calls. This is especially useful when calling unknown numbers. By hiding your caller ID, unknown numbers will see “No Caller ID” or "Unknown" rather than your real number. 

If you receive a suspicious call that sounds like it might be a phishing scam, you can call the number back with your caller ID hidden. This way, you can confirm the legitimacy of the call without giving up your real number. If you do this, never give out any personal information over the phone. 

To hide your caller ID, you can dial *67 before typing in the recipient’s number. You can also go to your Settings app, navigate to “Phone,” and toggle off Caller ID. 

6. Add Your Number to the National Do Not Call Registry 

In order for telemarketers and scammers to make their pitch or attempt their scam, they need someone to answer their call. If you pick up, they may add you to a call list now that they know your number’s in use. 

The more you’re called by random numbers, the more exposure your number gets. To avoid being called by telemarketers, you can add your number to the National Do Not Call Registry. This should decrease the number of pesky telemarketer calls you receive. 

7. Check To See If Your Number’s Been Leaked

Data breaches and sales can leave your personal information exposed and make you vulnerable online. If your number is part of a leak, it will make it easier for others to find your number online. But these hacks and leaks can happen subtly and randomly. It can be hard to tell if your number’s part of a data breach. 

A quick way to routinely check if your number’s part of a data breach is to look it up on a site like Have I Been Pwned. You can look up your email on this site and see if there are any results. If your email’s been leaked, there’s a good chance your number is either part of that leak or can be accessed if someone gets your email. 

Have I Been Pwned will include a timeline of all data breaches related to your email and list what other types of information were compromised, including phone numbers. If your number makes the list, employ the strategies listed above to secure it. 

8. Hide Your Phone Number on Social Media Accounts

You can use a second number in place of your real one when signing up for social media, or you can try to avoid using a number altogether. For some sites, an email might be enough. 

If you need a number (even if you use your second one), take the proper steps to make sure it’s not publicly visible as part of your account. For example, on Facebook, you can go to settings and make sure your phone number is set as “Only Me,” meaning only you can view it. 

9. Remove Your Number From Google

Google is the most widely used search engine. If someone is trying to search your number, they’ll likely start on Google. 

Just like people-search and data broker sites, Google also offers a way to request the removal of personal information from its search engine. To do this, you’ll need to submit a content removal form and explain why you want your number removed from Google search results. 

You will have to submit specific URLs that contain your number to fill out the form. This means you’ll need to find those people-search, data broker, or social media sites first and copy the URLs. Follow the steps on the form and list the reason for removal as something like a personal safety concern or identity theft risk.

10. Be Smart With Your Number

One of the most effective ways to protect your phone number online is by using common sense and staying diligent. Look out for signs of phishing scams, never give out your personal information online, only give your number to trusted people and companies, and take action if you see something suspicious. 

FAQs

How do you remove your phone number from all websites?

It’s very difficult to remove your number from all websites. But it is possible to greatly reduce the number of times your number appears online. Fill in the opt-out forms on people-search sites, data broker sites, Google, and remove/hide your number on social media. 

How do you hide your number from showing up?

For calls, you can dial *67 before each call or permanently adjust your phone settings so your caller ID is hidden. To hide your number from showing up online, opt out of people-search and data broker sites. 

Why should I hide my phone number?

Hide your phone number when making outgoing calls to unknown numbers to help protect your identity from hackers and scammers. You should also take steps to remove your number from the internet for the same reasons. 

Can Your Number Be Truly Unsearchable? 

The internet is a vast and invasive space. It's realistically impossible for you to remove your phone number from every single site that’s out there. Even if you follow the steps above and fill out as many opt-out forms as possible, there’s no guarantee a new profile won’t be created later. 

That said, you should still make the effort to reduce the ease with which your number can be searched. Any protection helps and could be the difference between your number falling into the wrong hands or not. 

So, find what strategies and tools work for you and enjoy the comfort of privacy and security that hiding your number offers. 

Sources: 

What Can Someone Do With Your Phone Number? | Security.org

How to Make Your Phone Number Unsearchable [2025] | Incogni

Mobile Phone Caller ID Blocking : Support Hub

How to Make Your Phone Number Unsearchable?

How to Remove Your Phone Number From the Internet | Security.org

‍