When you want to reach out to someone, you don’t always want to do it publicly. Whether it’s your own privacy or the sensitivity of the information that concerns you, you might find yourself looking for a way to reach out to someone anonymously.
You can create an anonymous Facebook account to contact someone, or use a private email service. If those options seem complicated and time-consuming, you can send them an anonymous text as an alternative. Here’s everything you need to know about anonymous texting and the tools that you need for it.
Note: It’s worth mentioning that pretty much all the apps and services mentioned will allow you to hide your identity, but if you do anything illegal and any law enforcement agency inquires about your account, the companies will all legally have to give them your real identity. So make sure you’re using these services only for harmless pranks, etc.
Secondly, pretty much the only services that actually work are the ones where you have to pay. If you try to send texts for free, it pretty much fails due to “high demand”, etc.
How to Send an Anonymous Text Via Email
You don’t necessarily need a phone to send anonymous texts. There are a few different ways that you can use to send messages from your computer. One of them is by using your email to text cell phones.
However, to make your text anonymous, you’ll need to create a new email account first without any hint to your identity, or use an anonymous one that won’t disclose your personal information. Then use this email address to send an anonymous text by following the steps below.
- Make sure you have the right phone number of the person you’re going to text. It’s a part of the email address you’ll use to send the text.
- Find out what phone carrier they’re using: AT&T, Verizon, T-mobile, or something else. You will need the domain names for the cell phone carrier to use for the email-to-text address. To find out what carrier the person’s using, ask them directly or use one of the websites that allow you to look it up.
- Put together the person’s email address. Take the phone number digits, then add the carrier domain.
Here are the examples of some of the popular carrier domains:
- AT&T – @txt.att.net (SMS), @mms.att.net (MMS)
- Verizon – @vtext.com (SMS), @vzwpix.com (MMS)
- T-Mobile – @tmomail.net
- Sprint – @messaging.sprintpcs.com
- Alltel – @message.alltel.com
- Boost Mobile – @myboostmobile.com
- Cricket – @sms.mycricket.com, @mms.mycricket.com
- Metro PCS – @mymetropcs.com
- Nextel – @messaging.nextel.com
- SunCom – @tms.suncom.com
- US Cellular – @email.uscc.net
- VoiceStream – @voicestream.net
- Compose an email as you normally do and send it to the person’s phone.
If you want your email to look more like a text, make sure to structure it as a text message and leave the Subject line blank. As you don’t have any personal information on this email account, the person will receive an anonymous text.
Mobile Apps That Allow You to Send Anonymous Texts
If you prefer using your phone for sending texts anonymously, you can do it by using one of the mobile messaging apps that allow it. Before you do, check that the app you’re about to use is secure with strong encryption mechanisms.
Here are two apps we can recommend:
Signal
Signal offers strong end-to-end encryption that doesn’t store any data and has a reputation of one of the most secure messengers out there. The app comes with an option to hide your caller ID, so you can call or text anonymously. Look for the Sealed Sender option to send anonymous messages to anyone who has allowed it at their end.
Signal is compatible with both Android and iOS, and you can download and use it for free.
TextMe Up
TextMe Up allows you to use multiple phone numbers and send free unlimited texts to any number in the US and Canada. For texting, you don’t have to buy any plan minutes to send messages to anyone even if they aren’t TextMe Up users. You can also use TextMe Up for sending pictures, voice recordings, and video calls too.
TextMe Up supports both iOS and Android and is free to use. A premium subscription opens up unlimited calling and texting to US & Canada phone numbers.
Phoner
Phoner is another great solution for when you’re looking to send an anonymous text that can’t be traced back to you. The app allows you to either send private texts from a random phone number every time or get a fixed second phone number for texting and calling.
The signup process is very easy and only requires your email address. After that, you can start texting and calling anonymously for free. When you first open the app, you get 100 credits, which translates into 5 minutes, and 5 texts that you can use for free. After that, you’ll have to purchase more credit to get more minutes and texts.
Phone offers different tier credit packs that you can purchase starting at $7.99 for a Silver Credit Pack that includes 5500 credits. The app itself is free to download for both Android and iOS.
Cover Me
If you’re looking for a premium app for private text messaging and calling, CoverMe is probably your best choice. It’s a secure app that allows you to get a second phone number to send your messages across the globe anonymously.
You can also use the same (or a different) number to privately call someone, send disappearing messages, and recall sent messages. CoverMe uses end-to-end encryption so you don’t have to worry about your message and call history staying private. You can also set up a password to lock the app and use it as a private safe to keep your media files on your smartphone.
When you first register, CoverMe will ask you to enter an email address, a password, your age and gender identity. After that you’ll be redirected to a page where you can select your second phone number. Then you can start calling and texting.
CoverMe has 3 different packages, starting at $9.99 for a Small Package with 200 texts and 200 voice minutes included. The app is available for both Android and iOS.
How to Send an Anonymous Text Online
You don’t have to download and install any extra software when you need to send an anonymous text message to someone’s phone. Instead, you can use a web-based tool to do it online.
Anonymous Text
Anonymous Text is the best site for sending an anonymous text anywhere in the world. It costs a $1.49 to send a single text up to 160 characters, which is definitely a lot, but the text message actually went through in my test and it reached almost instantly.
You can send an international text by simply changing the +1 to the country code for your desired country. All of the free services mentioned below didn’t work very well in my tests. Either the message didn’t arrive on my phone or it came only after several hours.
Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to view a response to your text message. It’s basically a one-way texting service.
Send Messages That Can’t Be Traced Back to You
Even if you use a service that claims to hide your ID from the recipient, that’s not enough for your communication to be truly anonymous. If you’re worried about your privacy, it’s best not to use your personal phone or computer when sending a message.
Using a proxy server or a VPN improves your chances of staying completely anonymous. If you end up using your browser to send a message, make sure you do it in Incognito mode.
Did you ever try sending an anonymous text message? What method or software did you use? Share your experience with anonymous texting in the comments section below.