Terms of Service

Number Reliability and Replacement

Other than the free demonstration numbers described below, every number you purchase is private and dedicated to you: it is sold once, to one customer, and is not shared. The one exception is that once you stop using or paying for a number and it is released, the underlying carrier may, under their own rules, recycle and resell that same number to a different customer at a later time; this happens at the carrier's discretion, not ours.

Whether a message arrives or sends successfully depends on the number itself and how it is being used; we cannot guarantee delivery in every case. For the most reliable reception, we recommend choosing a number marked real.

Numbers marked virtual are more local in nature, and in many cases can only reliably receive messages sent from a real phone number, not a service or short code, in that same country.

A replacement is only available for a real number that stops working. Virtual numbers are not eligible for replacement under this policy.

Free Demonstration Numbers

The numbers offered for free on virtnumber.com/freesmsreceive are provided as a public demonstration of the Service, not as a dedicated product. They are shared among many people at the same time, are our property, and are not for sale. We offer to receive any one message on these numbers so you can see that the Service works; beyond that, use is entirely at your own risk.

Where these are described as "temporary" or "temp" numbers, that describes their role, an alternative to your main number, in the ordinary sense the term is used across this industry. It is not a suggestion to use more than one, or to use them for any particular purpose. Any use that violates the law is prohibited, and the number, the account, or both will be blocked.

Using a demonstration number to bypass another service's registration, or as the sender ID for outbound messages, calls, or any other communication, is expressly prohibited. We are not responsible for any use of a demonstration number in this way.

Because these numbers are shared, we are not obligated to make any specific message available to any one person, to keep a message available for any length of time, or to guarantee that a message reaches anyone at all. We are not responsible for how these numbers are used by others, for the actions of any third party, or for any content that passes through them without our knowledge.

If personal data belonging to someone else ends up on a shared number, we will remove it. We may also restrict, suspend, or remove access to any shared number at any time, including immediately upon a request from any party, without needing to give a reason.

Where an investigation or legal proceeding relates to the use of a shared number, we are willing to cooperate and assist, provided we are informed of it in advance through Contact us.

Account Credit

Credit on your account stays valid for 365 days from your most recent confirmed payment. Every new top-up starts that period again, so an account that is topped up from time to time keeps its credit for as long as it stays in use.

If 365 days pass with no confirmed payment, the remaining credit expires and the balance is set to zero. Expired credit cannot be restored or refunded, and no reminder is sent before it expires.

Short Message Service

This section applies when a customer purchases services related to sending and/or receiving SMS and MMS. Messages sent to or from the customer may be blocked by carriers or service providers for various reasons; Virtnumber is not obligated to investigate or resolve any such blockage.

When using short codes, Virtnumber reserves the right to approve or reject any campaign at its discretion, and may suspend services related to any rejected campaign.

Acceptable Use and Fraud Prevention

Numbers must be used lawfully. Spam, unsolicited bulk messaging, and any use that violates the messaging rules of the destination country are prohibited. In the United States this includes compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and carrier A2P 10DLC registration requirements; in the European Union and the United Kingdom it includes compliance with the ePrivacy Directive's rules on unsolicited electronic communications and any applicable national identity-verification requirements for number ownership. You are responsible for your own compliance with the law of any country you send to or use a number from.

Prohibited uses. Using a number to bypass another service's registration limits (for example, creating multiple accounts where only one is allowed), to impersonate another person or entity, to circumvent another platform's security or verification controls, or for any fraudulent, harassing, or otherwise unlawful purpose is strictly prohibited.

Use consistent with this section is monitored, and a number or account identified as being used to bypass registrations, commit fraud, or for any other prohibited use may be suspended or terminated, temporarily or permanently depending on the severity and nature of the violation, without refund of any related order.

Where the law allows it, we may ask you for additional information about how you intend to use a number and for what purpose, and for certain countries or number types we may require an address or identity document before completing a purchase.

Outbound Message Limits and Prohibited Content

Sending is limited by default: a number may start up to four new conversations per day, and the API is capped at twenty requests per fifteen minutes per token. These limits exist to keep the Service usable for everyone and to meet carrier requirements for legitimate messaging traffic.

If a number has not completed the registration its country requires for sending (for example, A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration in the United States), the carrier may substitute the sender with a shared sender ID. In that case the recipient sees a generic name, short code, or long code belonging to the carrier instead of the number you purchased. This is a requirement set by each country's carriers, not a limitation we impose.

Raising these limits requires full identity verification first. This is done only on request, not automatically, if you need a higher limit, contact us and we will let you know what verification is needed.

You may not send content that is illegal, abusive, hateful, or that violates another person's rights, including their privacy, safety, or intellectual property. In line with US carrier standards (the CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices, which restrict sexual, hateful, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco-related content, known as "SHAFT") and EU rules on illegal content under the Digital Services Act (including hate speech, harassment, threats, doxxing, and copyright or trademark infringement), the following is prohibited regardless of destination:

• Sexually explicit, hateful, or harassing content, or content that threatens or stalks another person
• Content promoting alcohol, firearms, or tobacco to a general audience without the required age-gating or registration
• Content that infringes someone else's copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property
• Sharing another person's personal data without a lawful basis, including doxxing
• Any other content that is illegal in the sender's or recipient's jurisdiction

A violation of this section may result in suspension of the number, the account, or both, in addition to any other remedy available to us under these Terms.

Every message you send is checked automatically before it goes to the carrier. A message that may break these rules is not sent: it is held for review or rejected, and its price is still charged. If a message is rejected as fraud, phishing or another serious violation, sending from your account is paused until we review it. Messages you receive are checked automatically too, without delaying them.

If a recipient replies STOP (or STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT, OPTOUT or REVOKE) to one of your numbers, that recipient is blocked permanently for messages from that number.

No Guarantee

Virtnumber acts as an intermediary that places your order with the underlying supplier. By placing an order with Virtnumber, you accept this risk and its outcome. Once a service or product has been ordered, it cannot be exchanged for another, and there will be no refund if your order is unsuccessful. See also Payments, Refunds, and Compliance below for how this applies to credit purchases specifically.

Payments, Refunds, and Compliance

We accept payment by card and by cryptocurrency. All payments are processed in accordance with applicable law. Card payment may not be available to a given account if we have determined that account to be a risk for processing that type of payment.

Refund Policy

1. Eligibility for Refunds

A refund may be requested within fourteen (14) days of the original payment date, provided that the deposited balance has not been used, in whole or in part, to purchase, access, or pay for any product, service, feature, or other offering provided through the Service.

To be eligible for a refund under this policy, the entire deposited balance must remain unused. Partial refunds, including refunds of any unused balance remaining after partial use, are not available under this policy.

Bonus credit, including payment method bonuses and promotional credit, is not refundable and is removed from the balance when a refund is issued.

To request a refund, contact Virtnumber Support through the support ticket system in your account or by email at [email protected], and include the order ID of the payment.

2. Refund Method and Recipient

Any approved refund will be issued exclusively through the same payment method used for the original deposit and returned to the same originating payment instrument or account, including the same wallet, payment card, or bank account, as applicable. The refund must be made in the same currency as the original payment and to the same payer from whom the original payment was received.

For cryptocurrency payments, the refund is made in the same cryptocurrency, in an amount equal to the euro value of the original payment, converted at the exchange rate on the date the refund is processed.

Refunds to a different payment method, wallet, card, bank account, recipient, or in a different currency will not be processed under this policy. We may request reasonable evidence of payment ownership or identity before processing a refund.

3. Suspected Fraud, Abuse, and Prohibited Use

Where we reasonably suspect or identify fraud, fraudulent activity, prohibited use of the Service, payment abuse, unauthorized transactions, or the use of a stolen or compromised account or payment instrument, we may suspend the processing of a refund and temporarily restrict access to the relevant balance to the extent reasonably necessary and permitted by applicable law.

We may retain or freeze the relevant funds while investigating the circumstances of the transaction and assessing potential losses, claims, chargebacks, liabilities, or other costs arising from the suspected activity. Any deduction, withholding, or application of funds toward such losses or costs will be made only to the extent permitted by applicable law.

In such circumstances, the fourteen (14)-day refund period under this policy will not require us to process a refund while the investigation remains pending. We may resume consideration of the refund request once the relevant circumstances have been sufficiently clarified, subject to applicable law and any mandatory consumer rights.

4. Mandatory Legal Rights

Nothing in this Refund Policy excludes or limits any rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under applicable law, including mandatory consumer protection and payment services legislation.

The Service may not be used by any person or entity that is subject to sanctions administered by the United States (OFAC), the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, or any other applicable sanctions authority, or that is ordinarily resident in, or accessing the Service from, a country or region subject to comprehensive sanctions. We reserve the right to refuse service, hold funds, or terminate an account where necessary to comply with sanctions law.

For payments flagged as suspicious, we may require additional information to confirm your identity or the legitimacy of the payment before it is credited to your account. A payment under review may be held until this is resolved.

Technical Support

Users must report any problems with a number to Virtnumber Support by email or via the support ticket system.

Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time; continued use of the Service after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of Estonia, without regard to conflict of law principles. If you are a consumer resident in the EU, this does not deprive you of the protection of any mandatory provisions of the law of the country where you live.

Any dispute should first be raised with us through Contact us. If it cannot be resolved that way, it is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Estonia, without prejudice to any mandatory consumer-protection rights available to you in your own country.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim arising from these Terms or the Service is limited to the amount you paid us in the three months before the claim arose. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including lost profits or lost data, except where such a limit is not permitted by law, for example for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or death or personal injury.

Intellectual Property

The Virtnumber name, logo, website, and all associated content, other than the messages and data belonging to you, are the property of Virtnumber or its licensors and may not be copied, reproduced, or used without our written permission.

Force Majeure

We are not liable for any failure or delay in providing the Service caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including outages or restrictions imposed by our underlying suppliers, network carriers, payment processors, or blockchain networks, as well as events such as natural disasters, war, or government action.

Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions stay in full effect. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Virtnumber regarding the Service.