Everyday life
A second number for deliveries, couriers, tradespeople and one-off services
Couriers need to reach you today, not next year. A second number handles "I'm outside", quotes and appointment reminders, and keeps the marketing that follows off your personal line.
A parcel, a plumber, a sofa delivery and a broadband installer all want your mobile number, and all for a good reason: they need to reach you at the door. The trouble is what happens afterwards. The number stays in the retailer's system, the courier's app and the installer's marketing list, and the calls and texts that follow have nothing to do with the door.
A second number gives them a number that works on the day and matters to you only on the day.
Give services the second number
Use it at checkout, on the booking form and when the tradesperson asks. Calls ring in the app; "I'm outside" texts arrive under that number on the Messages tab. Reply from the app, or decline a call and tap Respond with SMS to send "Leave it with the neighbour, number 12". See Answer, decline or text back an incoming call.
What it costs to receive
Receiving SMS is free on Second Phone, so delivery updates and appointment reminders cost nothing to collect. Receiving a call uses coins at the incoming rate for the number's country, shown in the Pricing calculator; on your primary number, calls are covered by the subscription.
Quotes and follow-ups
Tradespeople quote by text and follow up by call. Keeping that on the second number means the conversation about the bathroom, with its photos and measurements, stays in one place and never mixes with personal messages. Once the job is done, swipe the conversation away, or keep it as a record.
When nothing is due
Deactivate the number between projects; it stops ringing and stays yours. Reactivate it when the next delivery is booked. If it has attracted too much marketing, let it lapse and take a fresh one; extra numbers are bought for a week, a month, three months or a year. See Rename a number, set auto-renew, switch it off or delete it.
A permanent "services" number
Many people settle on one extra number for everything transactional: deliveries, bookings, tradespeople, loyalty schemes, marketplaces. It becomes the number that is public, and the personal number becomes the one only people know. The services number can have voicemail and business hours like any other, so a courier calling at 7 am reaches a greeting rather than you.
Frequently asked questions
Will the courier's app accept a second number?
It is an ordinary mobile or local number, so it works wherever a phone number is asked for. Apps that send a code to confirm the number will send it as an SMS to the second number.
Can I get a call from the delivery driver on the second number while I am abroad?
Yes. Calls to the number ring in the app wherever your phone has data or Wi-Fi.
Do I need a separate number for each service?
No. One extra number for all transactional contacts is the usual arrangement; several are possible, up to ten on one account, if you want to keep, say, home services and work purchases apart.