Frequently Asked Questions

A virtual phone number is a temporary phone number that exists in the cloud — not tied to a physical SIM card or device. You can use it to receive SMS verification codes (OTPs) from apps and websites without revealing your real phone number. It looks like a normal number to any service, but all messages are routed securely to your online dashboard.

PingNum works in three simple steps:

1. Fund your account — Sign up with an email and add a small crypto deposit to your balance.
2. Choose a number — Select your preferred country and the service you want to verify (e.g., WhatsApp, Google, Telegram).
3. Receive your code — Trigger the OTP from the app or website, and the SMS code appears in your PingNum dashboard in under 3 seconds.

No SIM card, no physical phone, no subscription required.

PingNum currently offers virtual numbers from 5 countries:

• United States — Both VOIP and Non-VOIP numbers available
• United Kingdom — UK numbers for UK-specific verifications
• Canada — Canadian numbers
• Hong Kong — HK numbers for Asian services
• Indonesia — Indonesian numbers

Non-VOIP US numbers are recommended for stricter services like Google that reject VOIP numbers. New countries are added regularly.

PingNum supports 500+ services, including:

Messaging: WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Viber, Line
Social media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, Snapchat
Google: Gmail, Google Account, Google Voice
E-commerce: Amazon, eBay, Airbnb, Uber, DoorDash
Finance: PayPal, Cash App, Coinbase, Binance
Developer tools: Discord, GitHub, Slack

If a service sends an SMS verification code, it almost certainly works with PingNum.

Yes, using virtual phone numbers is legal in most countries. They are widely used by individuals for privacy, by businesses for multi-region presence, and by developers for testing and QA. PingNum's service itself is entirely legal and legitimate.

You are responsible for how you use numbers. Do not use virtual numbers to violate a service's terms of use, engage in fraud, or conduct any illegal activity. PingNum prohibits misuse and may suspend accounts found in violation.

A standard number session lasts 20 minutes — more than enough time to receive a single OTP. During this window, the number is exclusively assigned to you and will route any incoming SMS straight to your dashboard. If no SMS arrives within 20 minutes, your balance is automatically refunded for that number.

PingNum's extendable sessions is a unique feature that lets you hold the same number well beyond the standard 20-minute window — for 1 hour, 1 day, or longer depending on availability.

This is especially useful when:
• You need multiple OTPs from the same service over time
• A verification flow is multi-step and spread over hours
• You need the same number to receive login codes repeatedly
• You want a stable number for a period of testing or development

No other major virtual number provider offers this level of session flexibility.

PingNum accepts cryptocurrency payments including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), and other major cryptocurrencies via NOWPayments. Crypto payments provide maximum privacy and enable instant, borderless transactions with no chargebacks.

Minimum deposit is $1.00. Funds are credited to your account balance and deducted on a per-use basis. Pricing starts from just $0.05 per number.

PingNum has a fair automatic refund policy:

• If you activate a number and no SMS arrives within the session window, your balance is automatically refunded in full for that number
• Unused account balance can be refunded by contacting support within 30 days of deposit
• Refunds are credited back to your PingNum account balance

Because numbers are provisioned in real-time from a live pool, refunds are not available once an SMS has been successfully delivered.

Privacy is a core principle at PingNum:

• No real phone required — sign up with just an email address
• Crypto payments — no credit card or billing address linked to your account
• SMS not stored long-term — messages are deleted after your session ends
• Real identity stays private — services only see the virtual number, never your personal information

PingNum never sells your data or shares it with third parties.

PingNum delivers SMS verification codes in under 3 seconds on average. Our infrastructure routes SMS through direct carrier connections, not long aggregator chains, keeping latency minimal.

In rare cases (high-traffic periods or specific carriers), delivery may take up to 60 seconds. If an SMS does not arrive within your session window, the charge is automatically refunded.

Yes. PingNum provides a developer API for programmatic virtual number provisioning and SMS retrieval. The API supports:

• Listing available numbers by country and service
• Activating and canceling number sessions
• Polling or webhook-based SMS delivery
• Balance management

The API is ideal for developers building automated verification workflows, QA pipelines, or SaaS tools. Contact support@pingnum.com for API documentation and access.