Signing Up for New Social Apps Without Handing Over Your Main Number

People think a phone number doesn’t count as personal information, but it is the same type of personal data as a name or email address. The more services that request it, the more opportunities platforms have to link an account to a specific user. 

In the process of signing up for new apps, phone numbers are usually what are asked for. But it can end up in the wrong people’s hands.

To avoid these risks, you can also use a temporary number for short-term purposes, with a limited validity period.

Read this blog to learn how to protect your data when signing up for new apps.

First of All, What is Personal Data?

Personal data is any data that directly or indirectly relates to a person. An example of personal data is a user’s last name, first name, and middle name, date of birth, home address, email address, phone number, photos, and links to social media profiles.

We share data about ourselves when we order clothes and groceries, look for a partner, or watch movies online. Thanks to the data that websites gather, users don’t have to re-enter their phone number every time or search for music that fits their mood. But in the hands of an attacker, personal data can be used against us. 

How Personal Data Is Collected and Used Online

One of the most common ways websites get personal data is by cookies, which are small text files that store data about a user’s visit to a website. Thanks to cookies, the website knows and scans a user’s activity, using that data to personalize the user’s experience on subsequent visits.

Some websites use forms or questionnaires to get users’ personal data. For example, an online store may ask for your mailing address, email address, and phone number, and a dating site may ask for your age, gender, and information about your hobbies.

By giving sites this information, we make our online experience easier. Websites, in turn, can show us more useful, targeted ads and better understand their audience.

But another common way to get user data is through social media registration using a personal phone number, which can later be abused for different purposes.

What Are the Risks of Identity Theft?

As a result of cyberattacks on companies, personal data may get into the hands of fraudsters. Depending on the data they get(login, passport information, or personal photos), fraudsters can use it in several ways:

• take out a loan in the victim’s name;
• take on debts in the victim’s name or set up a shell company;
• carry out fraudulent real estate trades;
• Get or intercept the password to your banking app;
• Take out money from a bank account;
• open an online account in your name, which could then be used, for example, to buy or sell illegal goods;
• Make an account at an online casino or on a dating site;
• blackmail the victim;
• Do fraudulent activities in your name.

How to Sign Up Without Sharing Your Main Number

When a new app asks you for a phone number, you don’t have to use the number you use for banking, family, and work contacts. If you often sign up for new services, it may be easier to separate your numbers by purpose. To do this, you can use an extra SIM card or eSIM, and use a virtual number for different things.

The right choice depends mainly on how important the account is and how long you plan to use it. If you plan to use the service long term, it is good to use a number that you can keep long term. In this case, an extra SIM or eSIM is a better option: you are more likely to have access to the number if you need to recover your account. A virtual number may also work, but before registering, you should check the provider’s terms and conditions: how long the number stays active, if the number can be renewed, and under what conditions the number can be got again.

A temporary number only makes sense for a service you don’t plan to use long term. Its main problem is clear: once the number expires, you won’t be able to get a confirmation message if you need it to recover your account.

After registering, check your privacy settings. Disable useless access to your contacts and check if the service allows other users to find your profile using your phone number. This way allows you to try new apps without turning your main number into a universal identifier across all your accounts.

Conclusion

Protecting your personal data does not mean avoiding every new online service. It means picking what data every service really needs. If you try new social apps every day, using your main number only for important accounts and a different number for other services can help limit how much your personal information is shared.

FAQs

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