Get a Second Phone Number: Call From a US Number and Keep Yours Private

You don't have to show your own phone number when you call. With CallTuv you can rent a second US phone number for $5.95 a month and every call you make shows that number instead of yours. Your real number stays private, and the people you call see the same US number every time, so by the second call they start to recognise it. It's for outgoing calls, it works from your browser and our app, and you can cancel any time.

The "same number every time" part matters more than it sounds. In our own call records, when someone rang the same US number a second time, the call was answered 87% of the time if the caller ID matched the first call, against 82% when it had changed. Familiar numbers get picked up. Strangers don't.

Why the same number gets answered

Most Americans screen calls. In Pew Research Center's survey of 10,211 US adults, 8 in 10 said they don't generally answer their cellphone when an unknown number calls. Only 19% said they usually pick up.

So what turns an unknown number into a known one? Seeing it before. That's all. We could test that in our own data, because of how CallTuv's free default works: unless you choose otherwise, each call shows a number picked from a shared pool, and the pick is random, made fresh for every call. Call the same person twice and sometimes the second call happens to show the same number as the first, and sometimes it doesn't, and because nobody chose which, comparing the two groups tells you what a familiar number is worth on its own, with everything else left to chance.

We looked at every repeat call to a US or Canadian personal or business number over the last six months, meaning a second call from the same account to the same number within two weeks, and left out customer service lines (they answer everyone) and blocked accounts:

Five points more answers. More real conversations too. All from nothing but a number that looked familiar. A rented number makes that the rule instead of luck: it's the same on every call, from the first one on.

One honest caveat. "Answered" includes voicemail picking up, which is why both figures are high. The minute-or-more column is the better guide to actual conversations, and it moves the same way.

Why people want a second number

Privacy. Your mobile number is tied to your bank, your WhatsApp, your two-factor codes and your family. Guard it. Every time you give it to a stranger, a landlord, a seller on Marketplace or a company you're cold-calling, it goes into one more contact list you'll never control, can end up synced to their other devices, their CRM or whatever app they back their contacts up to, and stays there long after the call is forgotten. A second number for outgoing calls keeps your real one out of all of them.

A US number when you're not in the US. This is the big one for our customers. If you live in Israel, London or Lagos and you call Americans, a foreign number on their screen is an international call they didn't expect, from a country they may not recognise, arriving in the middle of a day already full of spam calls they've learned to swipe away without thinking. A US number reads as a normal call. That counts when you're calling prospects, US clients, a school, a doctor's office, a landlord or a company that has never heard of you.

Looking like a business. When you call a prospect three times over two weeks, the third call should come from the number they've already seen twice. A number that changes every time is a stranger every time, and strangers are exactly what most people have learned to ignore.

Keeping work and personal apart. One number for the people you work with, your own for everyone else, and both calls from the same laptop or phone.

Your options, side by side

CallTuv gives you three ways to choose what people see. Two are free.

Outside CallTuv, the usual alternatives each cost you something. Look closely. Blocking your caller ID hides your number, but then the other person sees no number at all, and a call with no number is about as unknown as a call gets. A second SIM or eSIM gives you a real second line, but it means a second phone plan with its own monthly bill, and it only shows a US number if the plan is a US one, which means a US carrier you keep paying every month while you live somewhere else.

How to rent a second US number in CallTuv

About a minute, on the website:

1. Sign in at calltuv.com and make sure you have a little calling credit and a saved card. If you've topped up before, you already have both.
2. Open the Call page and click the caller ID button at the top of the dialer.
3. Click Rent a US number. You'll see five numbers, each with its state, such as Ohio or Kentucky.
4. Don't like any of them? Go back and open it again for five new ones, as often as you want.
5. Pick one and press the button that names it. Your card is charged $5.95 and the number is yours in a few seconds.

Done. Your next call already shows it, and calls from the CallTuv app on your phone go out on it too, with nothing to set up there.

Calls themselves cost the normal per-minute rate from your calling credit, and calls to US and Canadian numbers are $0.03 a minute. The $5.95 comes from your card, separately. A low balance never puts your number at risk. If your card's billing address is in Israel, 18% VAT is added and the total is $7.02 a month.

Calling prospects and people in the US

A second US number makes cold calls and follow-ups look right. A few habits make them work:

• Always leave a voicemail. In the same Pew survey, 67% of Americans said they don't answer unknown numbers but do check the voicemail. Say who you are and why you called, then how to reach you.
• Give them a way back. A rented number is for outgoing calls only, so nobody can ring it back. Leave your email, your WhatsApp or a booking link in the voicemail and in a follow-up message.
• Keep calling from the same number. That's the whole point. Every call they see from it makes the next one more likely to be answered.
• Call in their hours. The mainland US alone spans four time zones, so 9am in New York is 6am in Los Angeles.

What a rented number doesn't do

Know this before you pay:

• It can't receive calls. Anyone ringing it back usually hears a not-in-service message. If you need people to call you back on a number, verify your own phone as caller ID for free instead.
• It can't receive texts, so it won't work for WhatsApp sign-up, bank codes or any one-time security code.
• It's US numbers only for now, and you can't move an existing number in or take this one out.
• It's one number per person. On a team, each member can rent their own.
• It can't call emergency numbers, like every CallTuv call.

Cancel whenever you like. The number keeps working until the end of the month you've paid for, and you won't be charged again. The full details are in our help article on renting your own US number.

Is calling from a different number legal?

Showing a number you've rented isn't spoofing. A rented number is assigned to you and shown on your calls with your knowledge, and that's how it's meant to work. What's illegal is spoofing, which the FCC describes as deliberately falsifying the information sent to someone's caller ID to disguise who you are, usually to make a call look like it's from a local number, a company or a government agency.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a second phone number for calls?
Rent one from CallTuv. On the website, open the Call page, click the caller ID button and choose Rent a US number. It costs $5.95 a month and shows on every call you make, from the browser or the CallTuv app.

Can I call from a US number when I live outside the US?
Yes. That's what most people use it for. The number is a US one, and it shows on your calls wherever you are, as long as you have Wi-Fi or mobile data.

Will the people I call see my real number?
No. They see your rented US number. Your own number isn't shown.

Can people call me back on my rented number?
No. It's for outgoing calls only and it can't receive texts. Leave a voicemail with another way to reach you, or verify your own phone as caller ID if you need call-backs.

Can I choose the area code?
You choose from five numbers we show you, each with its state, and you can refresh for five more as often as you like. There's no search for one specific area code.

How much does a second number cost?
$5.95 a month, charged to your card, plus your calls at the normal rates. Calls to the US and Canada cost $0.03 a minute. Cancel any time and keep the number until the paid month ends.