Number masking
What is Number masking?
Number masking is the technique of connecting two parties — a customer and a driver, a buyer and a seller — through a temporary proxy phone number instead of revealing either party's real number, so the call or text routes through the platform without exposing personal contact details. It's the mechanism behind marketplace and delivery-app calling features, and the proxy number is typically reassigned or expired once the underlying transaction or relationship ends.
More detail
Proxy numbers are usually drawn from a pool and assigned per active session or transaction, then released back to the pool for reuse once it's no longer needed.
Number masking protects both parties' privacy without requiring either to share a personal number, while the platform in the middle retains visibility into the interaction for support and safety review.
Frequently asked
- How does number masking protect privacy in a marketplace app?
- Neither party's real phone number is ever shared — a temporary proxy number connects the call or text, so the platform can facilitate contact for a transaction without either side seeing the other's actual number.
- Does a masked number stay assigned forever?
- No. Proxy numbers are typically drawn from a shared pool and reassigned once the underlying transaction or relationship ends, so the same number gets reused across many unrelated sessions over time.
See also
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