One thing about TikTok that’s rather frustrating, is that they require you to have a phone number linked to your account in order to send messages.
For people that don’t have their own phone or simply can’t have it tied to your TikTok username, this can be a big problem.
Thankfully, there are workarounds available that let you use TikTok without a phone number, but still allow you to send DMs and private messages.
In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know – along with several strategies to try out!
1. Use A Google Voice Number
The first and easiest option is to take advantage of a platform called Google Voice.
If you have a Google account (and who doesn’t, these days), you can use Google Voice to give yourself your own private phone number, which is capable of receiving both calls and texts.
Although you need a phone number to link it to, the number that they give you will be entirely different.
You can sign up for Google Voice by clicking here.
When TikTok attempts to send you a verification code to verify the number, you can receive the code by visiting your Google Voice page, at Voice.Google.Com and signing in.
All of your text messages will be available, meaning that you can link it to your TikTok just like you would any other phone number.
Therefore, this is a great solution that only takes a few moments to implement.
But what if you don’t have another number to link your Google Voice to? Thankfully, there are other solutions!
2. Use A Texting App
Since their release, texting apps have been an extremely popular way to give yourself a brand new, separate phone number.
A few examples of texting apps include TextNow, Text Free, and Talkatone.
These apps are usually free, and let you sign up using an email address. After confirming your account, you will be able to pick between several phone numbers to call your own.
Then, you can put this number into TikTok to assign it to your account – and finally allowing you to send private messages again.
If TikTok requires you to verify your number using a temporary code, it will be available within the new phone number’s inbox, which you can access by opening the app.
Note however that if the phone number has already been used for someone else’s account, it may not work for you. In this case, you will need to start over with a new number.
In fact, that’s one of the big problems with texting apps – the phone numbers are recycled.
This means that the number could have already been used for someone else. Or, if you lose access to the number, somebody else may be able to use it to recover your account.
Therefore, this poses some security risks. If you are going to use a texting app, ensure that you keep the number active and you remove the number from all of your TikTok accounts before letting it go. Many texting apps will recycle numbers that haven’t been used within a certain time period (usually 30 days), so always pay attention to ensure you still have access to the phone number.
3. Buy A Prepaid Phone
Your final option is to purchase a cheap prepaid phone. This is the most secure of all of the options, but also the most expensive.
Prepaid phones can be purchased for less than $50 each day, and these will ensure you are the only one that has access to the phone number. As a bonus, you can also use this as a backup phone number for any other service that you wish to sign up for as well.
While some people have problems using texting app numbers for TikTok, prepaid phones are never an issue.
Once you add your phone number to the account, you will be able to send DMs again, and shouldn’t run into any other issues regarding verification.
Just make sure you don’t buy a prepaid phone with a recurring bill or contract – there are still some phones that allow you to buy one-time ‘minute cards’, keeping your service active much longer if you don’t actually call with it that much.
Why Does TikTok Require A Phone Number?
Having to use a phone number just to send private messages is an inconvenience. So why does TikTok require it?
Ultimately, it all comes down to keeping the platform safe and secure.
These people are bots, and TikTok would be overran with them if they allowed people to message without first verifying a phone number.
Typically, bots send out messages in bulk to hundreds or thousands of people, for one of two reasons.
Either they want to spam some service (which is annoying at best), or they set out to scam people out of their money, which is never a good thing.
Either way, requiring a phone number cuts down on bot accounts massively, because it prevents people from making thousands of fake accounts to spam and scam with.
Adding your phone number proves you’re a real person, so only after adding it does TikTok allow you to send private messages.
Conclusion
Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can do to get a phone number for TikTok, even if you don’t already have a phone available to you.
By using texting apps, Google Voice or buying a prepaid phone, you’ll be given a number to use for TikTok, that will allow you to send DMs to people.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any other questions about TikTok, please ask them using the comment form below.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister