Tinder, Hinge and Bumble without giving out your own number

Dating apps ask for a phone number to confirm you’re a real person and to keep fake profiles out. They don’t show it on your profile, but it stays on their records, and some people would rather keep their own number for people they know. Here’s what each app does with it.

Tinder

Tinder asks for a phone number when you create an account, and texts a code to confirm it. Add an email to your account: if you can’t get codes on the number later, Tinder’s “Trouble logging in?” option can send a link to that email so you can move the account to a new number.

Hinge

Hinge asks every member to verify a mobile number with a code, then to confirm an email address. Once that’s done, connect Google or Apple sign-in in the app, so signing in doesn’t depend on a code to the number.

Bumble

Bumble lets you sign up with a phone number, or with another sign-in option the app offers. If you sign in with a phone number, Bumble sends a new code when you sign in again, for example on a new phone, so another option is easier to keep.

A separate number for signing up

A second SIM or eSIM works if you have one. Otherwise, a one-time number like ours receives the sign-up code for 20 minutes, for $1, with the money back to your balance if no code arrives. Get a number for Tinder, Hinge or Bumble, then set up the email or sign-in option above straight away.

Their rules

Be yourself on your profile, and don’t use a new number to come back after a ban: that breaks the apps’ rules and ours (see our Acceptable use policy).