I only give my real number to people, not companies

I shudder every time I get a phone call from an unknown number. I dread looking at the hundreds of unread text messages in my inbox. No, I’m not being melodramatic. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been very lax with securing my phone number. Every app, every food delivery service, every shopping website that I’ve logged into has my phone number. At the time of signing up for these services, it seemed like the obvious thing to do. After all, if the delivery guy needs to find my address, he’ll have to call me for assistance. Plus, it makes sign-in so much easier on services that default to phone numbers. As harmless as this seems, it’s opened up a world of pain for me.

Once your phone number is in the hands of a business, it stops being yours.

For years my phone has been cluttered with spam texts, unwanted messages, and more robocalls than I know how to handle. I’d be pulling out my hair if it weren’t for call screening services like TrueCaller. But even the best of these is far from perfect. The point is, the number that was supposed to connect me with family, friends, and colleagues is now up for grabs as a target for digital advertising. And I didn’t sign up for that. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and there is a way out.