No phone number

A chat app without a phone number — your number stays yours

Your phone number is one of the most personal things you own: it links to your messaging apps, your bank, your contacts and often your real name. Drdshe never asks for it. You can chat with new people using only a display name — no SIM card, no SMS code, no number shared with anyone.

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Why your phone number matters

Many popular messaging apps are built around your phone number. That is convenient with friends and family, but risky with people you have just met. Someone with your number can find you on other apps, see your profile photo, add you to groups, call you at any hour or search for you online. Once a number is shared, you cannot easily take it back — changing it is a hassle that affects your whole life.

How Drdshe works without a number

To sign up you choose a display name and a password, set your gender and confirm you are 18 or older. That is all. There is no phone number field anywhere in the app and no SMS verification. Email is optional too: if you add one, you can recover your account if you forget your password. If you prefer, tap “Join without email” and Drdshe gives you a login ID instead — just remember that without an email, a forgotten password cannot be recovered. Our guide on chatting without an email explains that option in detail.

What other people can see

In the online list and in chats, other people see only your display name, your gender and whether you are online. They never see a phone number (there isn’t one), and they never see your email. Conversations stay inside Drdshe, so you can get to know someone before deciding whether to share anything more.

Text, photos and voice notes — no calls

You can send text, photos and voice notes of up to two minutes. Drdshe has no live voice or video calls, so there is no reason for anyone to ask for your number “to call you”. If you want to hear each other, voice notes do the job — see voice chat with voice notes.

When someone asks for your number

It will happen sometimes. You are never obliged to say yes. A friendly “I prefer to keep chatting here for now” is enough. If someone keeps pushing, gets angry, or asks for codes sent to your phone, treat it as a red flag: block or report them from the chat. Never share one-time codes with anyone — they can be used to take over your other accounts. More tips are in how to chat anonymously and safely and on the safety page.

Privacy beyond the phone number

Not asking for a number is only part of the picture. Messages are removed after a short retention window (30 days by default), photos and voice notes are stored privately behind short-lived links, and notifications show only “New message”. Messages are not end-to-end encrypted; the Privacy Policy explains what is stored. You can delete your account at any time, with a seven-day grace period.

Works on any phone, even without a SIM

Because Drdshe does not use SMS, it works on a tablet, a phone without a SIM card, or a second device on Wi-Fi. Install the Android app, or open the web app in any browser — including on iPhone. Some people also prefer it on a shared device, since nothing ties the account to a number.