Key points
- A second number or spare email hides your real details, which is genuinely useful.
- But it stops there: you still receive every message in full, including the hostile parts.
- A filtering relay hides your details and changes what reaches you and keeps a record.
- For ongoing difficult contact, the difference is the part that protects your wellbeing, not just your number.
- You can get a second phone number with a second SIM or eSIM, an app, an internet number, or a filtering relay.
A friendly note: This guide shares general information to help you understand your options. It isn’t legal advice, and it can’t tell you what to do in your own situation. For that, a lawyer or a free legal service is the best next step, and you’ll find some in Where to get help.
If you want to keep your real phone number or email private, a second number or a spare email address is the usual first step. It works: the other person sees the throwaway detail, not your real one. For one-off situations that may be all you need. For ongoing contact with someone difficult, it leaves the hardest part unsolved.
How to get a second phone number
There are four common ways to get a second phone number:
- A second SIM or eSIM. Most recent phones hold two SIMs, so you can add a prepaid plan from any mobile provider and use two numbers on one phone.
- A second-number app. These give you an extra number that works over mobile data or wifi, usually for a monthly fee.
- An internet phone number. Internet calling services can give you a number you use in an app or on a computer.
- A filtering relay such as FenceChat. You get a FenceChat number for texts and a FenceChat email address, and messages are filtered before they reach you. It is for texts and email, not calls.
Each one keeps your real number private. Only a relay also filters what people send you and keeps a record, which is what the rest of this guide compares.
What a second number gives you
A second SIM, a virtual number, or a spare inbox creates separation. Your real details stay private, and you can screen or mute the secondary channel. That protects your identity and lets you switch the throwaway detail if things go wrong. These are real benefits and, for low-stakes privacy, often enough. It is a common choice for selling online without sharing your real number.
What it does not do
- It does not filter the content. Every message still arrives in full, hostile parts included.
- It does not keep a structured record. If you need evidence later, you are back to screenshots.
- It does not combine email and SMS. You manage each channel separately.
- It still interrupts you. The hostile message just lands on a different number.
What a filtering relay adds
A relay like FenceChat does everything a second number does for privacy, then goes further. Your real email and mobile stay hidden, but incoming messages are also filtered: the AI removes hostile and manipulative content and delivers the useful part to your inbox and Dashboard. Every message, original and filtered, is stored with a timestamp, so the record builds itself. And email and SMS run through one account, so you have one calm place rather than two channels to manage.
Which should you choose?
If you simply want to hand out a number that is not your real one, a second number is fine. If the person on the other end is hostile and the contact is ongoing, the part that actually wears you down is the content and the constant interruption, and that is exactly what a second number cannot help with. That is where a filtering relay earns its place. Our guide to email relay services explains how a relay works.
Where to get help
These services are free or low-cost. If you or someone else is in danger, call your local emergency number first.
Australia
Privacy
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner Your privacy rights in Australia.
Online abuse, stalking and cybercrime
- eSafety Commissioner Report serious online abuse and image-based abuse.
- ReportCyber Report cybercrime affecting you or your business.
If you feel unsafe
- Emergency: 000 Police, ambulance or fire, if you or someone else is in danger.
- 1800RESPECT Free, confidential counselling for family, domestic and sexual violence, any time. 1800 737 732.
United States
Privacy
- IdentityTheft.gov Federal help if someone misuses your personal details.
Online abuse, stalking and cybercrime
- Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Support for online and image-based abuse, including a free helpline, any time: 844-878-2274.
- Stalking Prevention, Awareness and Resource Center Information and resources about stalking.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center Report internet crime.
If you feel unsafe
- Emergency: 911 Police, ambulance or fire, if you or someone else is in danger.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline Free, confidential support, any time. Call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
United Kingdom
Privacy
- Information Commissioner’s Office Your data protection rights in the UK.
Online abuse, stalking and cybercrime
- National Stalking Helpline Advice for people affected by stalking. 0808 802 0300.
- Victim Support Free support for people affected by crime.
If you feel unsafe
- Emergency: 999 Police, ambulance or fire, if you or someone else is in danger.
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline Free, confidential support, any time. 0808 2000 247.
Frequently asked questions
Does FenceChat hide my real number like a second number does?
Yes. The other person only sees your FenceChat number or address, never your real mobile or email, in both directions.
What does a relay add over a second number?
Filtering of hostile content, automatic timestamped records, and email plus SMS in one account. A plain second number does none of these.
Can the other person tell the difference?
They are told once. The first time they contact you, they receive a one-time notice saying messages are processed by AI and stored. You can switch that notice off where telling them could put you at risk. Replies you send through FenceChat still end with a short “Sent via FenceChat using AI” line. After that, they use your FenceChat details like any normal contact: they install nothing, never see your real number or email address, and do not see what was removed.
Is a second number cheaper?
Often, yes, but it solves only the privacy part. For ongoing hostile contact the content and interruption are the real problem, which a relay addresses.
Do I still control who can reach me?
Yes. Only contacts you add can reach your FenceChat number, so strangers and spam never get through.
How do I get a second phone number?
Add a second SIM or eSIM to your phone, use a second-number app or an internet phone number, or use a filtering relay such as FenceChat, which gives you a texting number and an email address that filter hostile messages before they reach you.