Facebook asks for your phone number: what to do

Facebook asks for a phone number at two points: when you create an account, and sometimes later, when its security checks want to confirm the account is yours.

Signing up: use an email instead

The sign-up form takes a mobile number or an email address. Use the email, and Facebook confirms the account with a code sent there. It may suggest adding a number afterwards; that part is optional.

When Facebook insists on a number

Sometimes Facebook stops an account at a screen asking for a mobile number and a code before you can carry on. It decides when, and doesn’t say why. You can use your own number, the number of someone you trust, or a one-time number for the code: ours cost $1, and if no code arrives within 20 minutes, the $1 goes back to your balance. Get a number for Facebook.

Be careful with an account you’ll keep

Facebook can ask for a code again later, for example if it locks an account to check it’s you, and a one-time number won’t receive that second code. Getting a locked account back without the number can be hard, so for an account you plan to keep for years, use a number you keep. If you do use a one-time number, add your email and turn on two-factor authentication with an authenticator app straight away, in Settings, then Accounts Centre, then Password and security.