How to Block Your Number When Calling: *67, iPhone and Android Settings, Landlines, and When It Doesn't Work

To hide your number for one call, dial *67 and then the number. To hide it on every call, turn off Show My Caller ID on an iPhone or choose Hide number in your Android phone's caller ID setting, or ask your carrier for line blocking. Federal rules make the request binding and free, with four exceptions worth knowing: 911, toll-free numbers, people who reject anonymous calls, and telemarketers, who are not allowed to hide at all. Here is each method, what the person you call sees, and when to show your number instead.

Updated 2026-11-10 · By Andrew Pickett, OmegaIT

The one-call method: *67

Dial *67, then the full ten-digit number (eleven with the leading 1), and place the call. Your number is withheld for that call only; the next call you make shows it again. The FCC's rules require every carrier that offers caller ID to honor it: carriers "will recognize *67 dialed as the first three digits of a call ... as a caller's request that the CPN not be passed", and no carrier may override that request or charge for it (47 CFR 64.1601(b) and (c)). It works on cell phones, landlines and most home VoIP lines; rotary and pulse-dial phones use 1167 instead.

The person you call sees a label rather than your number: "No Caller ID" on an iPhone, "Private number" or "Private Caller" on Android, "P", "Private" or "Anonymous" on a home-phone display. Verizon's description of the feature on its home-phone lines says exactly that: "The word 'Private' or 'P' will appear on the display unit of the called party", and the block "turns off after each call" (Verizon). What each of those labels means to the person receiving it is covered on our No Caller ID, Private Number and Restricted pages.

To do the opposite on a line that normally hides its number, dial *82 first: it asks the carrier to pass your number for that one call, which matters when you are calling someone who rejects anonymous calls (below).

Hide your number on every call

**iPhone:** Settings > Apps > Phone > Show My Caller ID, and turn it off. Apple's own instruction adds the important caveat: "If Show My Caller ID is dimmed or doesn't appear, contact your carrier" (Apple). The switch sends a request to the carrier, so it exists only where the carrier allows the phone to control it; AT&T documents the same path for its iPhones and notes the option "may not appear here if it isn't supported by your device or plan" (AT&T).
**Samsung Galaxy:** Phone app > More options (three dots) > Settings > Supplementary services > Show my caller ID, then choose Hide number (some models say Never). Network default leaves the decision to the carrier (Samsung; AT&T shows the same steps for the Galaxy S26 FE (AT&T)).
**Pixel and other Android phones with Google's Phone app:** Phone app > More (three dots) > Settings > Calling accounts > your SIM or carrier > Additional settings > Caller ID > Hide number. Older versions put it under Settings > Calls > Additional settings. If the menu is missing, the carrier does not expose the control; use *67 or ask for line blocking.
**Any phone, through the carrier:** ask your carrier to put per-line blocking on the account. Every call is then private unless you dial *82 first. The rules describe this as a "line blocking service" and oblige carriers that offer it to honor *82 as the per-call unblock (64.1601(b)).
**Home phone:** the same *67 and *82 codes work per call; for permanent blocking, order it through the carrier's account tools (Verizon lists it under calling features in My Verizon and the My Fios app).

One limit applies to all of these: they hide your number on calls, not on text messages. Samsung's guidance says it directly: "when sending text messages your caller identification will not be hidden" (Samsung UK). A text always carries the sending number.

When blocking your number does not work

**911 and emergency lines.** Your number and location are delivered regardless; the rules exempt emergency lines from the privacy indicator (64.1601(d)(4)(ii)). Hospital, poison-control and other emergency-assistance lines are covered by the same exemption.
**Toll-free numbers.** When the called party pays for the call, the carrier delivers the billing number (ANI) to them whatever your caller ID setting says; the rule carves out "a called party that subscribes to an ANI or charge number based service and the call is paid for by the called party" (64.1601(b)). Calling an 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 or 888 number with *67 does not hide you from the business that owns it.
**People who reject anonymous calls.** Anyone with Anonymous Call Rejection (*77) on a landline, or Silence Unknown Callers or Screen Unknown Callers on an iPhone, or Block unknown/private numbers on Android, will not hear your call. On a landline you get a recording telling you to unblock your number and call again; on a cell phone the call goes to voicemail or is declined. Dial *82 before the number, or show your number for that call, when it matters that you get through (Verizon; Apple; Google).
**Threatening calls.** Privacy does not survive a threat. The rules let a carrier release a blocked caller's number to law enforcement once a threatening call is reported, and landline Call Trace (*57) records it for the police (64.1601(f) and (g)).
**Telemarketing.** If you are calling to sell something, you may not hide your number at all: anyone engaged in telemarketing "is prohibited from blocking the transmission of caller identification information" and must show a number the recipient can call back during business hours (64.1601(e)). Tax-exempt nonprofits are exempt from that paragraph.

Is it legal, and is it spoofing?

Hiding your own number is legal and the rules go out of their way to protect it: carriers may not charge for per-call blocking, may not reveal a blocked number or name, and may not use it to let the called party reach you (64.1601(b) and (c)). It is also not spoofing. The FCC's spoofing guide draws the line: "You can legally block the transmission of your phone number when you make calls, so your number will appear as 'unknown.' Doing so is not spoofing" (FCC). Spoofing is transmitting a different, misleading number, and it is illegal under the Truth in Caller ID Act when done to defraud or cause harm.

Two practical consequences follow. First, a hidden number is a poor choice when you need an answer: clinics, agencies and anyone screening unknown callers increasingly send it to voicemail, so for a callback you are expecting, show your number and leave a message if they do not pick up. Second, do not hide your number to avoid an organization's records; the toll-free exception means most businesses receive it anyway, and your carrier always has it.

Why people hide their numbers, and what to do when they hide them from you

Most hidden-number calls are mundane: a doctor calling from a personal cell phone, a social worker, a teacher, a journalist, someone returning a call from a number they do not want saved. Organizations hide whole phone systems so that callbacks go to the switchboard. If you are on the receiving end and want fewer of them, the same tools that frustrate your own hidden calls work for you: Screen Unknown Callers on an iPhone, Block unknown/private numbers on Android, *77 on a landline. The No Caller ID and Private Number pages cover who hides numbers, whether a hidden call can ever be traced, and how to stop them.

And if a hidden caller claims to be your bank, Medicare or a government agency, the hidden number is itself the tell: those organizations call from numbers you can look up, and telemarketers are barred from hiding theirs. Hang up and call the number on your card or statement.

Sources

Got a call from an unknown number?

Look it up free — carrier, location, FCC complaints and first-hand reports.

FAQs

How do I block my number for one call?

Dial *67, then the full phone number, and call. Your number is withheld for that call only; the person you call sees No Caller ID, Private or Blocked. On rotary or pulse-dial phones, dial 1167 instead. Carriers may not charge for it.

How do I hide my number on every call from an iPhone?

Settings > Apps > Phone > Show My Caller ID, then turn it off. If the switch is dimmed or missing, your carrier controls the setting: dial *67 per call or ask the carrier for line blocking.

How do I hide my number on an Android phone?

On a Samsung Galaxy: Phone app > More options > Settings > Supplementary services > Show my caller ID > Hide number. On a Pixel or other phone with Google's Phone app: Phone app > More > Settings > Calling accounts > your SIM > Additional settings > Caller ID > Hide number.

Does *67 work when calling a toll-free number?

No. When the called party pays for the call, the carrier delivers your billing number to them regardless of the privacy setting. *67 also does not hide your number from 911 or other emergency lines.

Is blocking my number illegal or considered spoofing?

No. Hiding your own number is legal and protected by FCC rules, and the FCC says doing so is not spoofing. The exception is telemarketing: anyone making sales calls must transmit a callback number and may not block caller ID.

Why did my blocked call not go through?

The person you called rejects anonymous calls: Anonymous Call Rejection (*77) on a landline, Silence or Screen Unknown Callers on an iPhone, or Block unknown/private numbers on Android. Dial *82 before the number to show it for that one call.