How to hide or withhold your number and Caller ID in Android

Making your number appear as private can be handy so here's our step by step guide on how to hide your number in Android and switch off caller ID.

Whatever your reason, there is a way of withholding or hiding your number on Androidsmartphones and you can also switch off Caller ID. Here's how to hide or withhold your number and Caller ID in Android. See also: Best Android phones you can buy in 2015.

Perhaps you just want to prank call a friend or ring a company you've been pestering which won't answer if they see your number appear. There are many reasons, good and bad, to hide your number and make it appear as private and below is our step by step guide on how to do it in Android.

Note: You can only hide/withhold your number if your network supports it. We've used a Google Nexus 5 running Android 5.0 Lollipop for this guide so things may vary depending on the brand and model of your smartphone.

How to withhold/hide your number in Android

Step One

Open the phone/dialler app on your Android phone.

Step Two

Open the menu by tapping the three dots at the end of the search bar.

Step Three

Select 'Settings'.

Step Four

Click on 'Call settings'.

Step Five

Click on 'Additional settings'.

Step Six

One the menu has loaded, click on 'Caller ID'.

Step Seven

Now select 'Hide number'

How to switch off Caller ID in Android

If you want to switch off Caller ID then follow steps 1-3 above then follow the steps below.

Step One to Three

See above

Step Four

Select 'Advanced settings'.

Step Five

Open 'Caller ID by Google'.

Step Six

Move the slider left to the off position.