Perhaps you just want to prank call a friend or ring a company you’ve been pestering which won’t answer if they see your number appear. There are many reasons, good and bad, to hide your number and make it appear as private and below is our step by step guide on how to do it in Android.
Note: You can only hide/withhold your number if your network supports it. We’ve used a Google Nexus 5 running Android 5.0 Lollipop for this guide so things may vary depending on the brand and model of your smartphone.
See also: How to turn off predictive text on Android.
How to withhold/hide your number in Android
Step One
Open the phone/dialler app on your Android phone.
Step Two
Open the menu by tapping the three dots at the end of the search bar.
Step Three
Select ‘Settings’.
Step Four
Click on ‘Call settings’.
Step Five
Click on ‘Additional settings’.
Step Six
One the menu has loaded, click on ‘Caller ID’.
Step Seven
Now select ‘Hide number’
How to switch off Caller ID in Android
If you want to switch off Caller ID then follow steps 1-3 above then follow the steps below.
Step One to Three
See above
Step Four
Select ‘Advanced settings’.
Step Five
Open ‘Caller ID by Google’.
Step Six
Move the slider left to the off position.
Tech Advisor’s Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.
