Can you make your own phone number

Gone are the days of signing up for a business phone service and being given random digits. In the past, traditional telephone carriers made it difficult and expensive to choose a custom number. Today with VoIP, it’s easier than ever to choose a new phone number for your business. Now, you can find phone numbers online, meaning you don’t even have to pick up the phone. 

You may be familiar with custom numbers for personal use. For example, there are apps that provide customers options for new virtual phone numbers, allowing them to make local calls from wherever they are, even if they’re out of the country. They can buy phone numbers for any area code or country code they require. 

A business phone number that’s easy to remember improves your credibility and brand recognition. But how do you go about buying a specific phone number?

Google Voice gives you a phone number for calls, texts, and voicemails. You can use this number to make domestic and international calls from your web browser and mobile devices. If you're in the US, you can choose your own number. 

In addition to using Google Voice for calls, texts, and voicemails, you can also: 

  • Read voicemail transcripts in your inbox and search them like emails.
  • Personalize voicemail greetings.
  • Make international calls at low rates.
  • Get protection from spam calls and messages.
  • Block unwanted callers.
  • Screen calls before you answer.

Google Voice saves and processes your call, text, and voicemail information.

What you need to use Google Voice

Supported operating systems:

  • Chrome OS
  • macOS
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Limited functionality may be available on other platforms

Supported web browsers:

  • Google Chrome
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Safari

Sign up for Google Voice & get your number 

Important: Google Voice doesn’t offer 1–800 numbers. 

Set up Google Voice on Web

  1. Go to voice.google.com.
  2. Sign in to your Google Account.
  3. Review the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
    Can you make your own phone number
     click Continue.
  4. You can search for available numbers by city or area code. If numbers aren’t available in your area, try a nearby city or area code. 
  5. Next to the number you want, click Select. 
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Tip: After setting up Google Voice, you can link another phone number. Learn more about setting up phones.

Gone are the days when phone numbers were as commonly memorized as street addresses. While you once had your own phone number, your best friend’s, your crush’s, and the one for the local pizza shop all at the top of mind, the advent of smartphones has rendered this memory exercise moot. Like most people, you probably don’t call your own phone number very often — and if you do, it’s likely listed in your Favorites — so you may not know it off the top of your head.

Contents

  • How to find your phone number in iOS
  • How to find your phone number in Android
  • Getting a call from your own number?

With that reality comes the familiar grip of panic when a new acquaintance asks for your mobile phone number and you have no clue. Or maybe you’re so used to sharing your second phone number that you forgot the first! 

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Regardless of whether you’re using an iOS or Android device, you can quickly locate your own number (among other details like your IMEI number) on your phone if you know where to look. We’ll show you how to do it.

How to find your phone number in iOS

Phone number how to

Looking up your phone number on an iOS device is easy and convenient because most iOS users are running the same version. There are two ways you can easily locate your phone number: The Contacts app or in the settings.

  • Contacts: Open the Phone app, tap Contacts, and your number will be the first listed.
  • Settings: Go to Settings > Phone and My Number will be the first field on the list. You can of course change, or edit, this if you wish by tapping on the number.

How to find your phone number in Android

Do not be surprised to discover some variations in the steps you need to take for finding your own mobile number on an Android device. That’s because Android users may be running different versions of the operating system and because of variations in how the operating system is implemented across device brands. So there are bound to be different interfaces depending on which device you use and which version of the OS you run. Generally, however, all roads begin from the settings.

The example below is on an LG V40 ThinQ running Android 10, but the process remains the same in Android 11 and Android 12.

Finding phone numbers on Android

  • Go to settings and search for My phone number in the search bar.
  • The result will give you the path: System > About phone > Status.
  • Alternately, launch the Contacts app and you’ll see your own contact info right at the top.

The screenshots below show an older Samsung Galaxy S6 that runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

If you’re running stock Android, or something very close — for example, the Google Pixel or Nexus, or the Lenovo Moto G, X, or Z smartphones — pull up the Contacts app. You’ll see an entry titled My Info or Me; your phone number is listed in that contact information at the top of the list.

For every Android phone, regardless of manufacturer, you’ll be able to find your phone number if you go to Settings > About Phone or About Device > Status > My phone number. Some Android phones will have SIM or SIM card status listed within Status. If this is the case with your phone, then your number will be listed there. If you don’t want to go through these many different menus, you can pull up the search bar and type in My Phone Number to directly pull up the relevant information.

It’s not hard to find your phone number once you know how to look for it, so you can help others find their numbers with just a few steps.

Getting a call from your own number?

Now that you’ve found or memorized your phone number, it might come as a shock to see if pop-up on your screen as an incoming call. The FTC has warned that some robocallers and scammers have taken number spoofing to the next level and will use your own number in hopes you answer. They have also taken to this method to get around number block, because after all, who blocks their own number? If you see an incoming call with your number on it, no it’s not you from an alternate timeline, it’s a scam so don’t pick up.

Can I create a free phone number?

Apps That Give Out Free Phone Numbers Google Voice is one example, but there are many others that will give you a real phone number to make and receive internet calls. For example, you can download the FreedomPop app, the TextNow app, or the TextFree app from their respective websites.

What app lets you make your own number?

Burner is the most reliable and fully featured virtual phone number app available, boasting premium calling & texting features that include blocking, muting, and do-not-disturb settings plus the ability to easily switch lines when needed.