TikTok SMS Verification With a Temporary Number, Step by Step

You can receive a TikTok verification code on a free temporary number: enter the number in TikTok, then read the code on that number's public inbox page. Before you do, check whether you need a phone at all, because TikTok usually also lets you sign up with an email address or an Apple, Google or other account. A temporary number only makes sense for a throwaway account, since anyone who can read that inbox can request a login code too.

Do you need a phone number at all?

Often you don't. TikTok's sign-up screen generally offers:

• Phone or email. Switch to the email option and you can sign up without a number.
• Continue with Apple, Google, Facebook and others. With Sign in with Apple you can pick Hide My Email, so TikTok gets a relay address instead of your real one.

The exact options vary by region and app version. TikTok can also ask you to verify a phone number later, so email sign-up doesn't guarantee you'll never be asked.

If you only want to watch, you can browse much of TikTok on the web without an account.

How to use a temporary number for TikTok

1. Open the TikTok numbers page. It shows numbers that received an SMS from TikTok in the last 7 days, so TikTok was recently delivering to them. If the list is empty, TikTok probably isn't sending to shared numbers right now, and the fallback numbers shown are a gamble.
2. Pick a number with a recent "Last SMS" and note its country.
3. In TikTok, choose phone sign-up, set the country and enter the number. Our copy button copies the full number with its + and country code. If TikTok shows the country code separately, remove it from what you paste.
4. Tap "Send code" once.
5. Open the number's page and watch the inbox. It checks for new messages every 10 seconds.
6. Find your code by its time. Someone else may be using the same number for TikTok at the same moment. Use the TikTok message that arrived right after you tapped Send. If you requested twice, use the newest code.
7. Enter it quickly. Everyone viewing the page sees the same code.

Secure the account in the first five minutes

A TikTok account on a public number can be opened by anyone who requests a login code to that number. Close that door before you do anything else:

1. Add an email address and set a password in your account settings, so you can log in without the phone.
2. Turn on 2-step verification in the security settings. If you can choose, use email or an authenticator app, not SMS to the public number.
3. Replace the phone number with one you control if you decide to keep the account.

If you can't do step 3, treat the account as temporary. Don't build a following on it, add a payment method or connect it to your other accounts.

Why the TikTok code doesn't arrive

• TikTok has stopped delivering to the number. Popular public numbers get used for TikTok over and over, and then blocked. Choose one with a recent TikTok message.
• Too many attempts. TikTok may tell you that you've tried too often and make you wait. Wait it out instead of hopping to a new number every few seconds.
• Country mismatch. If the country in TikTok's picker doesn't match the number, the code goes to a different number entirely.
• The number is worn out. Newly listed numbers have had less time to be blocked. Try the newest numbers first, or browse by country to find a number from somewhere else.

For the full list of things to check, see our checklist for codes that don't arrive.

What not to use a temporary number for on TikTok

• Getting back on after a ban. A new number doesn't change the reason for a ban, and creating accounts to get around one breaks TikTok's rules. Use TikTok's appeal process instead.
• Making lots of accounts. It's against TikTok's rules, and it's exactly what the blocks on shared numbers are there to stop.
• Anything with money or an audience. Creator earnings, a shop, ads, or an account people know you by belong on a number only you can read. Losing that account to whoever uses the number next would cost you far more than a second SIM.

Good reasons to use one

There are plenty of ordinary reasons to keep your real number away from a new app:

• you want to look around before deciding whether to stay
• you're checking how your brand's content appears to a brand-new account
• you don't want your number matched to your contacts or used for marketing texts

For all of those, an email sign-up is the cleanest route, and a temporary number is the fallback when TikTok insists on a phone.

Quick summary

• Try email or Sign in with Apple first.
• If TikTok insists on a phone for a throwaway account, use a number from the TikTok page with a recent TikTok SMS.
• Add an email, a password and 2-step verification right after sign-up.
• Keep any account you care about on your own number.