this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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Privacy
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how can i do that? is it costly?
A service like VoIP.ms you can get a DID (phone number) that supports SMS for a one time fee around $2 and usage fees around $0.001/minute
The cheapest option would be to just buy a cheap sim and verify the number with discord then throw the sim in the bin.
don't they have monthly fees?
I think Google offers free phone numbers through Google Voice. As far as I know, you can port in numbers too, so if you really wanted, you could get an inexpensive prepaid plan then transfer it to Google. (but I doubt there will be a problem using the Google Voice number that is assigned for free)
You can get prepaid sims which don't renew automatically. You can also find carrier's that allow you to cancel whenever no extra charge.
Best bet is to purchase a prepaid sim card and activate it with an old spare mobile phone (if you have one, that is). This is how you get a "physical" number that's authentic enough for sms verification. This is assuming you live in a place where prepaid sims are sold freely and can be activated without hassles.
There are websites and applications offering "burner numbers" for situations like this or people living in places that place restrictions in new sim cards. Most of them tend to get their numbers from voip providers sold cheaply. They can work most of the time, but picky organizations like Google and Discord can and will probably detect voip numbers when it's the case.
My personal experience is that Google doesn't like it and refuse those ones, asking for an actual "physical" phone number. Discord, on the other hand, did accept voip numbers when I tried (around 2 years ago).