unlisted numbers
Private phone identities
Unlisted numbers are telephone numbers deliberately excluded from public directories.
Someone with an unlisted number pays the phone company to keep it private, typically to avoid unwanted calls from salespeople, ex-partners, or the general public.
The term dates from when phone books were the primary way to find someone's number—a practice largely obsolete now that most people rely on cell phones, which aren't listed by default.
- privateRestricted to certain parties
- phone bookListing of local numbers
- directoryFile system container
- phonebookPrinted telephone listing
- phone directoryListed subscriber contact book
anonymous · blocked · caller · caller ID · landline · telephone · phone call · ex-directory · secret · hidden · disconnected · hang up · restricted · unpublished · switchboard · operator · whitepages · privacy
- privacyprivacy, private, seclusion, confidentiality, solitude