Temporary phone numbers - free Craigslist app?

[calmloki]

This is pretty cool: create a free temporary phone # that will forward calls to your home #. I recall some thread in which some people said they wouldn't respond to a Craigslist ad if it didn't include a phone #. Thing is, maybe you don't really want the world to have your home phone #.

Inumbr will create a temporary number for you (available area codes across the US). You can choose to create a message, have it take messages, forward calls to your home, have the calls follow you if you aren't home, have calls held between 9pm & 8am, have the phone number expire whenever you want, lots of options.... then just create a new # when you wish!

inumbr:: Auto expiring. FREE anonymous phone numbers for online safety.

Worked quick and easy when I tried it. Makes me feel like Mr. Phelps. This number will expire in five seconds: 5,4,3,2

Young women need a phone number they can pass out at the bar, then regret and nuke the next morning?

 

[Free To Canoe]

What does it cost?

Free to canoe

 

[calmloki]

i'm way too thrifty. how much to canoe?

 

[Free To Canoe]

Free is good enough for me.
I am sure that this is a service of some value that I will use someday.
I am not ready to now, however and didn't want to give them all of my info just to find out.
Hard to believe it is free. How can they never reuse the numbers?

Free to call

 

[Coach]

This thread made me think of Google Voice. It's been mentioned a few times in the forums. I got interested enough a few weeks ago to give it a try. It's kind of a permanent phone number alternative.

You get a phone number from Google Voice. You can then set that phone number to ring multiple phones -- like your home phone and cell phone. Whichever phone you pick up gets the call. If you don't pick up the call, it goes to voice mail.

As you can imagine from Google, it is infinitely configurable. You can set hours when each of your phones can get called. You can customize your voicemail greeting by groups of callers or even individual callers, including directing specific callers/unknown callers/blocks numbers directlty to voicemail. You can record phone calls. You can set it to email your voicemails, or transcribe them and email them or text message them.

You can make domestic (USA and Canada) long distance calls for free using your google voice number.

If you're a gmail user, it integrates with your gmail contact list.

It's free.

It's only available by invite, and I'd heard it can take a long time to get an invite, so I ended up buying an invite on ebay for 99 cents.

I've just been experimenting, but so far I am very impressed. Call quality seems just fine.

Coach

 

[W2R]

Coach, that is so good it sounds like science fiction! Maybe some day I'll try it.

 

[RonBoyd]

This thread made me think of Google Voice. ... It's only available by invite, and I'd heard it can take a long time to get an invite, so I ended up buying an invite on ebay for 99 cents.

There is an Invite available here -- at the time I wrote this. (It has been posted for several hours, however.)

Anyway, Google Voice is the best thing ever.

 

[TromboneAl]

Can you get a number with any area code??

How about if you have a distant person you want to call -- if they get a google number that's local to you, then you get free long distance, yes?

 

[RonBoyd]

Can you get a number with any area code??

How about if you have a distant person you want to call -- if they get a google number that's local to you, then you get free long distance, yes?

You have to live in the area in which the number is assigned. I believe, however, all calls are local but I will have to check --that would be tomorrow.

 

[calmloki]

Just got an Inumbr with an area code for Washington DC that will forward to me in Oregon. Good for the next hour: 202-360-4694 x 227

There are only a dozen or so area codes supported I see in further inspection. Don't see Alaska or Hawaii.

But oughta cut down on long distance for the contiguous states.

 

[RonBoyd]

Can you get a number with any area code??

How about if you have a distant person you want to call -- if they get a google number that's local to you, then you get free long distance, yes?

The more I think about the Long Distance thing... It would probably work as before -- in the normal way. The only thing that would change would be the "all phones at once" aspect. (I haven't thought about Long Distance charges since getting a cell phone several years ago.)

The "help" page for Google Voice is located here: Google Voice Help

Among the extensive data is this:

Google Voice Basics: How it works

With Google Voice, you get all your calls through a single number. Just add your other numbers to Google Voice and then make your own rules for how your phones ring. Click the Settings link on the right side of the page and click the Phones tab to change your phone settings and add the numbers you want to forward your calls to.


You can access and make calls from the phone and the Web, block annoying callers at will, and record custom greetings for different callers or groups of callers.
With Google Voice, you'll get all your voicemails in one place, saved for as long as you want. If you don't answer a call to your Google number, your callers will be sent to your Google voicemail. You can check messages by calling your Google number, by signing in to Google Voice, or by opting in to receive notifications.



You'll also get more handy features that work across all your phones:

• ListenIn as callers leave you a message
• Record calls on the fly so you never have to fumble for a pen again
• Switch phones mid-call without your caller knowing
• And more...

 

[RonBoyd]

There are only a dozen or so area codes supported I see in further inspection. Don't see Alaska or Hawaii.

Remember this is pretty new. In fact, it is actually in the Beta stage and participation is by invitation only. I have used it for a month or so now and they have made great strides in that time. (I should quickly mention that I am not a "Beta Tester" in the normal sense but only a "user.") I suspect when they open it up to everyone these little kinks will have been worked out.

 

[RonBoyd]

then you get free long distance, yes?

Upon further review... There is a page full of Q&A on the Long Distance aspect located here:

Search results - Google Voice Help

 

[FUEGO]

Another google voice user here. I got in early on the beta months ago (with a real invite directly from google! ). I mainly use it as a backup number and a number I can give to people if I just want a voicemail. Also good for craigslist ads, since for some reason some craigslist buyers assume I will be conscious at 1:30 am.

Another way I plan on using this is to give it out as my cell #, then use my throw away tracfones I get for free with it. The phone number stays the same, but the cell phone is new every 2-5 months.

 

[TromboneAl]

Just got an Inumbr with an area code for Washington DC that will forward to me in Oregon. Good for the next hour: 202-360-4694 x 227

Did anyone call you?

 

[RonBoyd]

then use my throw away tracfones I get for free with it.

We get free tracfones? How did I miss that? Where do I apply?

 

[FUEGO]

We get free tracfones? How did I miss that? Where do I apply?

You pay tracfone $16-20 for a 90-day airtime card and it comes with a free phone. DW uses the airtime card, I use the free throw away phone. It is free for me in the sense that I can't find the airtime cards cheaper anywhere else so I am paying nothing extra for the free phone.

Come to think of it, tracfone may market the phone as $20 and the airtime card as free. Can't recall right now exactly how it was worded.

The "free" phones have 2 months of activation and 20 minutes talk time. Works for me as a "glove box" phone.

 

[calmloki]

Did anyone call you?

Nope - guess no DC members wanted to try it out in that narrow window. I've only tried it using my cell to call the house phone. It worked, I thought it was cool.

 

[RonBoyd]

You pay them...

Come to think of it, they...

Google Voice?

 

[FUEGO]

Google Voice?

Nope. Tracfone. Earlier post edited to clarify that.

 

[RonBoyd]

Nope. Tracfone. Earlier post edited to clarify that.

Actually it was your earlier incomplete sentence that triggered my curiosity.

Another way I plan on using this is to give it out as my cell #, then use my throw away tracfones I get for free with it.

I understand what happened.

 

[FUEGO]

I understand what happened.

Sorry for the ample and confusing usage of prepositional phrases and pronouns!

 

[Katsmeow]

You get a phone number from Google Voice. You can then set that phone number to ring multiple phones -- like your home phone and cell phone. Whichever phone you pick up gets the call. If you don't pick up the call, it goes to voice mail.

You can basically do this with Vonage...but ended up being a pain. We went on vacation and I set our home phone to ring both my husband's and my cell phone. So one day I wanted to call my son at home so I called home. But, it rang DH's cell phone so we answered. Or he was calling home and I answered. This ringing all phones things is probably fine for a person who lives alone but not for where more than one person is there and that person may want to call another person in the family who is at a particular location.

 

[RonBoyd]

Google Voice rolls out a new message system

After directing your Google Voice account to pick up voice mails, rather than relying on your cellphone provider, Google will transcribe your messages and send an e-mail notification after new messages are recorded.

Previously this feature was only available by signing up for a new Google Voice phone number.

"There's always going to be a subset of people who don't want to change their phone number," says Google senior product manager Vincent Paquet.

 

[calmloki]

I did go to the google voice site and request an invite - took a day or two, but got it and have signed up - haven't really used it yet, but did try out the "read your voice message on the web feature". Don't know what program they use (like Dragon Naturally Speaking maybe?), but it did fairly well even with my mushmouth.

Understand that iphone doesn't play well with it but some other smartphones really make good use of Google Voice.