How to keep your personal number private when selling online, renting or meeting new people

A marketplace listing, a flat enquiry or a first meeting arranged online all start the same way: someone you have never met asks for your number. Most of them just want to buy the bike or view the room. But once a number is out, you cannot take it back. It can end up on spam lists, be used to look you up in messaging apps, or keep ringing long after the sale is done.

A separate number for first contacts keeps your personal line for people you already trust. This guide covers what a second number protects and what it does not, habits that help either way, and how to run a listings line in Decibell.

What a separate number protects, and what it does not

• It protects your personal number. Texts and calls you start from a Decibell number show that number, not your personal one, and you can stop using it without changing the number your friends and family have.
• It does not make you anonymous. The number is registered to your Decibell account, and telecom partners keep some communications records to meet their own legal obligations. It is a privacy boundary, not a way to hide who you are.
• It does not cover what you share elsewhere. Your full name on a listing, a photo that shows your street or the address you send for a viewing can reveal more than a phone number does.
• It does not replace the platform's own tools. Many marketplaces offer in-app chat and buyer or seller protection. Use those first and move to the phone only when it actually helps.

Habits that keep your number private

• Keep your number out of the listing. Numbers in public listings are easy to collect. Share one in a private message, and only when you need to.
• Move to the phone at your pace. Switch from in-app chat to calls or texts once the other person seems genuine, never because someone pressures you to.
• Never read out a code. If a buyer or a new contact asks you to forward a code that was sent to your phone, stop. That is a common way to take over accounts.
• Meet in public and tell someone. For pickups, viewings and first meetings, choose a busy place where possible and let a friend know where you will be.
• Block instead of arguing. If someone keeps calling or texting after the deal is done, block them. In Decibell a blocked number cannot reach any of your numbers.

Set up a listings line in Decibell

1. Get a number for your listings. Install Decibell on iPhone or Android, create an account and pick a number. Available numbers are shown in the app and may change over time.
2. Separate purposes if you need to. You can hold more than one number on one account, each with its own inbox, so replies about the sofa you are selling never mix with messages from a landlord.
3. Save the people you deal with. Add a buyer or a landlord to the address book inside the app so you know who is calling, while your personal contacts stay where they are.
4. Pin what is open, archive what is done. Pin the thread for the flat you are still discussing and archive finished sales, so the inbox shows only live conversations.
5. Keep notifications on. New messages and missed calls arrive as push notifications, so you do not lose a buyer while the app is closed.

Retire the number cleanly and know the limits

When the sale is done or you have moved in, you can release the number from the app. A released number returns to the provider's pool and may later be assigned to someone else, so first remove it from any account where you used it, and do not release a number that an important account still uses to reach you.

Some services, including some banks, ride-sharing apps and crypto exchanges, block virtual numbers, and WhatsApp registration on virtual numbers is unreliable. Virtual numbers also cannot reach emergency services, so carry your regular phone when you meet someone in person.

Finally, the line is for your own personal, one-to-one conversations. Decibell's Terms of Use prohibit fraud, impersonation and harassment, and business, marketing or bulk texting from Decibell numbers is not permitted. When you no longer need the line, cancel renewals in your App Store account settings.