Sept. 13, 2024
Ever wonder how all those online accounts are kept safe from being accessed by people who don't have permission? Phone number verification is how we verify that a real person is using a service, as our world moves further and further into the digital realm, it's becoming more and more difficult to verify a user's phone number. Throughout this post, we'll explore each type of verification, why strong verification is absolutely crucial and only becoming more important as our world continues to digitalize. From understanding how phone number verification is the gatekeeper to your personal information, you'll learn how to use online services securely and confidently.
Phone number verification is a way to confirm that a user has access to (generally) the phone number they say they do--essentially, they are asked to prove that they themselves can reach a particular phone number. By making users go through this extra confirmation step, a business can help to protect itself from fraud and ensure that users are using their products for legitimate reasons. In today's digital world, where fraud is still a major issue, and bad actors are trying to unlawfully access online services, this is of paramount importance.
The typical process involves a business sending a verification code--usually via SMS or an automated voice call--to the phone number that the user has provided. The person who has physical access to the phone will then need to enter the code into the website or app. This not only demonstrates that the phone is in that person's hands but also creates a secure link between that person and the business: for example, most banks and social media channels use it to verify users, so that security-related operations, such as a password reset or a transfer, can be confirmed by the user's phone.
Security is one reason companies might use phone verification. As more personal data is stored online, the risk and incidence of unauthorized access to user accounts grows. By verifying phone numbers, businesses can add another layer of protection against bad actors, helping to confirm user identities and limit unauthorized account access, which ultimately supports user trust and keeps user information safe.
Phone verification also helps protect businesses and end users from costly fraud such as account takeovers or fake accounts. For example, if a fraudster attempts to create an account to scam the business, they'll be blocked by the requirement to verify with a real phone number, making it a safer process for all involved.
SMS and voice calls are still the top two most common methods, but more and more other options are available and companies may use different methods to accommodate more flexible solutions. Sometimes, verification takes place in-app or through another mobile app, and these apps may use push notifications to send verification codes. This can keep users in the app and sometimes provide a smoother user experience because they won't have to navigate away, check their messages, or pick up their phone. Brands may also consider newer application-based authentication solutions, which are often more secure and include additional features like one-time passwords (OTPs) and biometric authentication -- features that are often more consistent and secure than just verifying a phone number.
In today's digital world, authentic user data is key -- it's the only way to keep your platform secure and authentic. One common use of phone number verification is to verify a user's phone number. You might use SMS verification, voice call verification, or in-app verification. And they help you prevent people from engaging in fraudulent activities at the same time. Learn more about each method below.
Phone number verification is one of the easiest ways to ensure the person trying to use your app or website is who they say they are. It works by sending a one-time password (OTP) to the user's phone number via a text message. Then, the user enters this code into the app/website to prove that they own that phone number. It's easy, it's effective, and that's why everyone does it.
It's effective because everyone has a phone, and everyone can receive texts. The only thing you need to remember when you ask for someone's phone number is to make sure there's a separate field for the country code, so they can't enter their phone number wrong, and you can be sure the number they've given you is in the correct E.164 format, which is the international standard for phone numbers. That said, you shouldn't rely just on phone number verification, because it isn't foolproof (e.g. it's vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks). You should use other verification methods in addition to phone.
Voice call verification is a secure, reliable service that allows users to receive their verification code in a phone call that plays an automated message with their code. This can be particularly useful in areas where SMS delivery is unreliable, or in situations where users may have difficulty receiving text messages for any reason, such as because they have no service, there are technical difficulties, etc.
Voice call verification is not just a workaround for SMS issues–it's another opportunity to create a top-notch user experience. By providing transparency and a human touch, users may feel more confident hearing their code read to them, though this will need to be balanced with usability and efficiency, as some of your users may not appreciate unsolicited calls from you.
And, as with SMS, when voice call is used as a backup, the two can be combined to create a solution that is more secure and more delightful.
In-app verification is a new way to achieve the same thing as phone or SMS verification, only instead of sending a message to the user's device, the mobile app sends the message to the phone number itself. Verification is faster and more secure.
In-app verification usually starts with the user entering their phone number, and the mobile app does the rest in real-time, or using a pre-integrated API. Less friction for profile creation and log-in means happy users. And because it's all happening in-app, the process is much more secure and reduces the app's attack surface by the sorts of vulnerabilities typically associated with external SMS or voice call messages.
In some cases, you can also use email verification as a fallback instead of or in addition to phone verification so you can make users verify their email and phone to double down on security. By sending codes to both, you're sure the user has access to both accounts.
Phone verification gives you immediate contact and interaction. Email verification is an additional step, making the user check another communication channel. This 2-step process can block many attacks and gives users more options for securing their accounts.
Phone number verification is just one type of 2FA. 2FA is short for 'two-factor' authentication, and it just means using two or more different things to verify that it's really you. When you use your phone number as one of the things (usually along with a password), it helps to keep the bad guys out. That's why you'll see 2FA in places like banks where they have to keep fraud and abuse to a minimum.
Using 2FA can help build trust and create a secure experience. A website that asks for a password and an SMS code to log in, for example, is much more difficult for attackers to use to steal users' information or take over their accounts. So in the end, 2FA isn't just a great way to keep your information safe—it's a great way to keep your users safe too.
Phone number verification is a common security feature in many applications. It's used to limit access to certain features and services to only legitimate users. It's becoming increasingly prevalent across all kinds of platforms, each of which has its own specific use case. In this post, you'll see how and where the different platforms use it, and how that implementation enhances the user experience and security.
You may have noticed that when you create a new account for a service like Facebook or Twitter, they often ask you to verify your phone number. There's a good reason for that. In part, it helps them stop people from creating fake accounts -- accounts they might use to spam other users or for other mischief. If there needs to be a mobile number attached to an account, they can't have bots do this en masse, and they can build a more legitimate user base.
The other big benefit of phone verification is that it allows them to recover accounts. If you forget your password or if they detect suspicious behavior, they can send you a code via text to verify that you actually own the phone number attached to the account. This two-step process makes security stronger and makes users feel more secure using their product, confident that they're taking measures to protect their personal information and that other parties can't misuse that information.
E-commerce sites like Amazon use phone number verification to securely complete transactions and secure your account. You're sending money online, they need to know it's you that's sending it. It's a golden rule of converting. It helps keep you safe because your billing and shipping addresses are different, and that difference could be a sign of fraud.
They also use it to help you recover your account. If you ever have a problem with your account or lose access, we can text a code to your phone number and you can reclaim your account and your saved payment methods. This keeps you safe, and it also reduces user friction because you'll have fewer fraud cases to deal with in the first place.
Messaging apps like Signal rely heavily on phone numbers for user identification and security. When you verify your phone number, they're able to ensure each account is associated with a unique, traceable phone—and hold people accountable. It's also a key way to deter harassment and unwanted contact, because phone numbers make it easy for people to report abusive users.
On top of that, phone verification supports other security functions, like end-to-end encryption. Once a user's phone number is verified, messaging apps can have even more confidence in the communication channel. Users can have confidence that the person on the other end of the conversation is really who they claim to be and can't be impersonated, making digital communication safer for everyone.
Banks really like phone number verification for keeping their apps secure, especially for 2FA (Two Factor Authentication). They'll send you a text or call to verify transactions, sending a code to your phone number. It acts as a second lock to protect your financial info.
If you attempt to take certain actions (like moving money or updating your information), you'll be asked to enter a code they've texted you. So even if someone has your password, they can't do anything without the code sent to your phone. It seems to work well as not only a line of protection for customers, but for the bank too.
Phone verification is a tool that all sorts of businesses and organizations--like entertainment services, for example--use to make their users' accounts more secure. That way, companies like Netflix can require a phone number to be attached to an account, so they can easily enforce more security (like verifying your identity) when logging in from a new device or a different location.
Even better, if you ever have any issues with your account, companies have an easy way to send a verification code right to your phone, so you can recover your account more quickly. Between making it harder for bad actors to break in, and making it easier for actual account owners to recover, most users feel safer and happier in the long run. Eventually, users will get that secure feeling, and put their trust in the service.
Phone number verification is really just the same principle applied across a whole bunch of different industries. And that's really great for everyone, because everyone gets the benefit of added security and improved user experience. Plus, by taking steps to make sure users are protected, you can create a safer environment for your customers, and build a reputation as a business that's secure and trustworthy.
For example, Apple utilizes two-factor authentication to enhance account security by requiring both a password and a verification code from trusted devices.
In the digital age, phone number verification is something you're pretty much told is a no-brainer when it comes to securing things like your bank account, email account, etc. It has benefits, but also some significant downsides you should know about.
Phone verification is all about security. When users have to prove who's really who by entering a code they receive through SMS, you're dramatically decreasing the likelihood of unauthorized account access. That's an extra layer of security on top of passwords, which are really easy to steal. If someone gets a user's password, for example, they'd also need their phone to log in, too, increasing the difficulty for the fraudster to gain access.
Plus, it makes for a safer user and provider environment. It's harder for a malicious party to use stolen credentials, and the user will be more likely to follow best practices to keep the account secure. It's not a cure-all, but phone verification makes hacking an account more difficult in nearly every scenario.
What's another key benefit of phone number verification? You can use it just about anywhere. The majority of people have a mobile phone and are familiar with texting, making SMS one of the most universal communication tools on the planet. That means in most instances, users will be able to verify themselves without needing to know how to use technological bells and whistles.
Which is ideal for services that serve diverse users, in regions where internet access can be spotty, but mobile network coverage is more consistent. With phone number verification, you can ensure your service is equally easy for everyone to access and enjoy—wherever they are in the world.
Phone number verification is great for preventing fraud. It's difficult for users to make multiple fraudulent accounts on your platform, because in this business, you need to ensure that two users can't use the same phone number. You can send them a verification code, and they'll enter it on your site or app to demonstrate that they're legitimate.
Businesses like an online marketplace or social media company really see a lift from verification, as it maintains a high-integrity user base. With fewer fraudulent accounts, their users can have more confidence in profiles and transactions and have a better time.
But for all the good it can do, phone number verification has some serious privacy drawbacks. You're asking people for their phone number, and that makes people nervous. They may think that you'll store it, share it, lose it, misuse it, or what-have-you. For example, if your platform ever gets hacked, now hackers have everyone's phone number.
And also, because of government surveillance and privacy concerns, many people might not use your platform if phone verification is mandatory. Is trading personal privacy for security really worth it? Many people don't think so and are concerned it would make it far too easy for governments to track people down by phone number.
With phone number verification, for example, while SMS is quite reliable, occasionally a user may have trouble receiving verification codes because SMS is down, or there's a network issue, or for whatever reason. And that's frustrating because if they can't get the code, they can't log in!
Which is why you want your verification to be robust and have alternative methods at the ready for users who can't use SMS. This is not only good for user experience, but you'll begin to realize the intended purpose of verification--getting users signed in with as little friction as possible--is being fulfilled.
Phone numbers rely on phone networks, which are not available everywhere, so not everyone can use phone verification. People who live in areas with poor cell service, or people who don't have a phone at all, can't use phone verification, which means they can't use the same services that other people with phones can.
And phone verification can be a barrier for low-income people to access your service if they are in a low-coverage area. That's why we believe service providers should offer other verification methods like email verification or using an authentication app, to be more inclusive and to give more people the choice of how they want to verify.
Understanding the benefits and limitations of phone verification can help individuals and businesses decide what level of security and inclusiveness is right for them. Technology is always evolving, and so should verification methods, to be able to work for everyone, and keep everyone's accounts safe.
When it comes to secure, reliable phone number verification, there are a number of best practices to consider to significantly improve both user experience and verification success rate. Here's what to keep in mind.
When it comes to phone number verification best practices, there are a few things to keep in mind. One of them is to use E.164 format. E.164 is an international standard that ensures every phone number is formatted in a consistent way. It begins with a '+' followed by the country code and then the subscriber number. For example, a US phone number would be formatted as +1234567890.
By using this format universally, you'll spare users some grief and prevent confusion, especially for people making calls from a different country. You'll also reduce user input error when they're inputting their phone number by hand, without any established format. This isn't just more convenient for the user—it's crucial if your user can be anywhere. Observing a standard for global callers means your users have one less thing to worry about, and you have a guaranteed line of communication.
In certain contexts, SMS is great--it's the most popular way to send verification codes--but you should always have a backup plan. Voice calls work in that capacity! Allowing users to receive their verification code by voice call broadens your reach and increases the chances that your verification process can reach more people.
You could even allow users to choose how they want to receive their verification code. Some users might prefer voice call for any number of reasons, maybe they have a foreign number and SMS will cost them money, or maybe they just like voice calls. In doing so, you'll increase user satisfaction and increase the chances of successful verifications.
Phone verification systems are most secure when they're rate limited. This is when you limit how many verification requests a single user can make in a given amount of time. So you might say that you're only allowed 1 request every 30 seconds per phone number, meaning that people can't abuse your system.
When you rate limit, you're not just stopping bad actors abusing you, you're also using your resources efficiently. Which means that your service can actually work on real requests, instead of being swamped. It also means you won't get a surprisingly high bill at the end of it all because somebody has tried to sms or call verify themselves a million times.
Exciting, eh? Let's move onto how to rate limit with Twilio. And remember, this technique will work with any API you're working with.
Phone numbers are a high-friction field in your sign-up flow. It's hard for users to get it right, and it's easy for things to go wrong, so make sure your form design supports user correction. That is, make sure they have a chance to fix it after the fact, if they enter it incorrectly, only realize after submitting and exiting a form. This small precaution could save you a lot of verification failures in the end.
Consider displaying the number they've entered in a highly visible way prior to form completion as well. By drawing attention to the number they entered, they may catch an error and less typos. In all, input time validation can have a huge impact on your verification success rate.
Once you've got phone number verification all set up, you'll want to keep an eye on it. Watching verifications as they roll in will help you catch problems early and address them in real time. Watching verifications as they happen will help you get a sense for whether there's a part of the process that users are getting caught on (e.g. poor reception that's leading to messages not being delivered.)
You'll look at verifications, failures, and user feedback in your monitoring tools to gauge just how effective your system is. By addressing small issues before they become big ones, you'll keep users happy and continue to build and reinforce trust in your verification as you move forward. By the time you finish this guide, you'll have a best-in-class verification system that keeps your users satisfied—and your platform secure—for a long time to come.
Phone verification is super important for many websites to confirm the phone numbers you input are real, and that you have access to that phone number. This is usually done with a one-time code sent over SMS or voice so companies can reduce fraud and protect their users. As cyber threats continue to rise, more and more are seeing the value of phone verification for security, especially in sectors like finance, social media, e-commerce, etc. There are a couple of different ways to do this verification, like SMS, voice, and in-app, and all have their own benefits and trade-offs. In exchange for all these great benefits of making sure no one else can get into your account, some people worry about their privacy, and others have concerns about reliability, so companies need to be strategic in how they verify users. By layering different verification methods and measuring success rates, companies can maintain a safe ecosystem for their users to rely on and enjoy.
Phone number verification is a way to verify that a user has a valid phone number and has access to it. It adds an additional layer of security to ensure that the user who submitted the number is the valid owner, and that no one is able to trick them or take over their account.
The process usually involves sending a unique verification code via SMS or voice call to the user's provided phone number. The user then enters this code into the relevant platform/app to complete verification, establishing a secure connection between them and the service provider.
Businesses derive a number of benefits from phone number verification--increased security, greater protection of user data, and a trusted user base--that cumulatively tend to shut down avenues for fraud and other negative outcomes, including identity theft and unauthorized access, ultimately ensuring your service is high quality.
Common methods include SMS verification, where we send a code to a phone, voice call verification, where we call a phone number and read a code, and in-app verification, where we use mobile applications to send codes back and forth internally, which is faster and more secure.
Yes, other alternatives include email verification, which is when you send codes to your user's email to verify who they are, and two-factor authentication (2FA), which is when you combine multiple ways to verify who they are (like SMS and biometrics) so you're extra sure they are who they say they are.
The pros are it's more secure, there's lower chance of scams, more people can access it, and more people will feel comfortable doing so. It's a key level for blocking bad actors and keeping a more honest user base.
Some of the drawbacks of the SMS tool include concern for privacy—because we're collecting and storing individuals' personal phone numbers—SMS delivery is not always guaranteed, so there is a risk that people won't be able to access the tools, and we are assuming a level of mobile literacy that may exclude people without reliable access to mobile networks.
Businesses can increase their success rates by following E.164 formatting, backup verification methods like voice calls, rate limiting to prevent abuse, allowing users to easily correct input errors, and monitoring their verification process to see if there are any issues to address.
When done right, phone number verification can greatly enhance user experience, instilling confidence, simplifying account recovery, and reducing fraud—making for happier users who trust your platform.
As everything moves online, secure authentication like phone number verification is increasingly crucial. Think of it like a guard dog that only lets you in if you've been verified, and ever more necessary for the demands of e-commerce, online banking, or even social chats!
phone number verification showing mobile phone surrounded by SMS and call icons
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