# Want to set up a Twitter account - any way to do it without giving my phone number?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-set-up-a-twitter-account-any-way-to-do-it-without-giving-my-phone-number/800145>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 29, 2017, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-set-up-a-twitter-account-any-way-to-do-it-without-giving-my-phone-number/800145 "2017-10-29T15:31:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-set-up-a-twitter-account-any-way-to-do-it-without-giving-my-phone-number/800145/1 "2017-10-29T15:31:20Z")

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I guard my cell phone number pretty aggressively. I want to set up The Twitter, but it seems they require my phone number.

I understand they would need it (I guess) if I access Twitter from my phone (or would they?). But what if I want to just receive Tweets on my laptop?

Thanks,  
mmm

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-set-up-a-twitter-account-any-way-to-do-it-without-giving-my-phone-number/800145/2 "2017-10-29T16:07:29Z")

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Are you trying to sign up through their app, or on the web? I took a look at the signup page and it asks for “phone or e-mail.” Does it later insist on a phone number before they complete the signup?

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**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-set-up-a-twitter-account-any-way-to-do-it-without-giving-my-phone-number/800145/3 "2017-10-29T16:21:41Z")

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I think they made a phone number mandatory a few years ago to help cut down on bots, which obviously wasn’t very effective.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-set-up-a-twitter-account-any-way-to-do-it-without-giving-my-phone-number/800145/4 "2017-10-29T19:08:22Z")

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Can one still get a Google Voice phone number for free? If so the OP can use that as a “burner” number, much like a spam-dump temporary email.