Google closing google voice for this hobby?

[Majichands]

At 3:45 yesterday my google number I have used for as long as they have offered a google number went off line . NO WARNING it just says your call can not be completed. In going and out going. My account was so old no one knew it was even a google number.

When I finally got a hold of the correct department they are reviewing the issue but bottom line they do not like the type of business and website it is attached to and they have a right to cancel any google voice they want to at any time.
I have opened another number but what good is it if they can just close that one down too after I think 15 yrs GOOD GRIEF.....
I have secured the other google number because I like the app but have chosen not to use it right now I sure do not want to change it all again UGH

I have put my temporary number NO APP on my site, twitter and signature here
and changing it on what seems like over 100 apps ad places contact places... I MEAN.....
DAMN DAMN

[BLM69]

If you're selling pussy and posting your number all over the internet, get yourself a legit hobby phone line, I've had the same GV number for over 10 years, only use it to set up appointments through text

[EquateMan]

Damn, I hate this whole business trend of not owning anything, just leasing it at the whims of a service provider. I use Voice as my primary number, but it's not attached to anything "questionable". I use Burner for this, but I don't have it published anywhere. Maybe if they can find any private channels where the girls share info about us?

Voice has always been a bit of a concern for me since I don't pay for it, so there's really no influence I have if they decide to just stop offering it, as Google has had a history of doing.

Either way, getting a "real hobby phone line" doesn't really help. Any of the carriers can do the same thing to you, and then you have a second phone to deal with. The reason I want virtual numbers is so that my phone is just another internet connected device. When I spent a month in Europe, I just got a data sim and everything worked just like home, no roaming charges. If I forget my phone at home, I can do everything with my laptop.

Even using a secure text like Signal or Whatsapp is still vulnerable due to the number link, which really sucks.

[carguy1989]

Originally Posted by EquateMan

Damn, I hate this whole business trend of not owning anything, just leasing it at the whims of a service provider. I use Voice as my primary number, but it's not attached to anything "questionable". I use Burner for this, but I don't have it published anywhere. Maybe if they can find any private channels where the girls share info about us?

Voice has always been a bit of a concern for me since I don't pay for it, so there's really no influence I have if they decide to just stop offering it, as Google has had a history of doing.

Either way, getting a "real hobby phone line" doesn't really help. Any of the carriers can do the same thing to you, and then you have a second phone to deal with. The reason I want virtual numbers is so that my phone is just another internet connected device. When I spent a month in Europe, I just got a data sim and everything worked just like home, no roaming charges. If I forget my phone at home, I can do everything with my laptop.

Even using a secure text like Signal or Whatsapp is still vulnerable due to the number link, which really sucks.

Trac Phone ...... EVERYTHING can be done with cash. I never put any realword info on it. IF it gets compromised, toss it the deep part of a lake, get a new number and carry on.

[BLM69]

Another thing the OP should do right away is port the original number before you lose it, that way your contacts you have can still contact you

[EquateMan]

Originally Posted by carguy1989

Trac Phone ...... EVERYTHING can be done with cash. I never put any realword info on it. IF it gets compromised, toss it the deep part of a lake, get a new number and carry on.

Her problem isn't being tracked down or it being compromised. Her problem is that it was literally taken from her by the company, which can still happen the same with Trac Phone. You can also lose it by being a day late with paying for the next month.

Unfortunately there's really no surefire way to protect against that with phone numbers. Probably why some providers don't post numbers anywhere that's publicly visible.

[EquateMan]

Originally Posted by BLM69

Another thing the OP should do right away is port the original number before you lose it, that way your contacts you have can still contact you

Interesting idea, I wonder if you could initiate a port request from another provider while it's still just suspended?! That would be an interesting workaround!

[BLM69]

Originally Posted by EquateMan

Interesting idea, I wonder if you could initiate a port request from another provider while it's still just suspended?! That would be an interesting workaround!

It can be requested from the new phone service provider, I'm sure they'll release the number, why would they want to hold on to it? Worth a try

[Smerc]

I probably wouldn't want anything to do with that number. Your contacts are within the google voice app correct? So getting that number ported to another carrier doesn't pull anything with it, just the dirty laundry of that number potentially being put on a list somewhere. Doesn't change with a carrier swap unless it's only on google.

Really depends on how google came into contact with that number. Google is a scraping service at the end of the day and scrapes websites to place in relevant search listings (their main function anyways). So they may have flagged all affiliated numbers within their google voice system if they managed to be pulled on a site affiliated with this hobby. If that was the case then any idiot could put your google number out there in a post or signature and potentially get your number/account banned it's in from a google product. I don't think google scraped the number and cross-referenced it to others in their system and banned it. I'm willing to bet it got reported by some asshole or someone digging into that number for some reason because of it being hobby related. I could be completely wrong though.

They could also be snooping on your texts to provide "relevant ads". Not sure.

I would also do as the others said and get a cheap burner phone and cheap service. Redpocket is very cheap. Just need to figure out how many texts/calls you make and go from there. Tracfone is a little more expensive but will also get the job done. I'm not sure if RP is local and you might have to pay online. So maybe that's a bad suggestion. Try and see what wally world offers.

[Alyssa XOXO]

Originally Posted by Majichands

At 3:45 yesterday my google number I have used for as long as they have offered a google number went off line . NO WARNING it just says your call can not be completed. In going and out going. My account was so old no one knew it was even a google number.

When I finally got a hold of the correct department they are reviewing the issue but bottom line they do not like the type of business and website it is attached to and they have a right to cancel any google voice they want to at any time.
I have opened another number but what good is it if they can just close that one down too after I think 15 yrs GOOD GRIEF.....
I have secured the other google number because I like the app but have chosen not to use it right now I sure do not want to change it all again UGH

I have put my temporary number NO APP on my site, twitter and signature here
and changing it on what seems like over 100 apps ad places contact places... I MEAN.....
DAMN DAMN

To keep the hobby completely separated from my personal phone/life, I keep 2 hobby phones. 1 burner strictly for (very brief) talk/text (no internet). And 1 strictly for Internet (I do not use it for calls/text). Both strictly Cash/Pre-Paid/TracFone All The Way.

I am old school and will never do apps, etc.

Have a great night and Happy Hobbying!

[BLM69]

Originally Posted by Alyssa XOXO

To keep the hobby completely separated from my personal phone/life, I keep 2 hobby phones. 1 burner strictly for (very brief) talk/text (no internet). And 1 strictly for Internet (I do not use it for calls/text). Both strictly Cash/Pre-Paid/TracFone All The Way.

I am old school and will never do apps, etc.

Have a great night and Happy Hobbying!

You're the female version of 007 😂, no need to get that paranoid baby, you ever watch the first 48? Detective's always go to the stores and pull the footage of people buying their burner phones cash.

If you guys want cheap phone service, look into Hello mobile, it runs in the T-Mobile network and starts at $5 a month, mint mobile is another one that runs in the T-Mobile network at $15 monthly, I use that one to get service for my GV, I just order 3 month prepaid SIM cards from a third party seller, it gives me a new cellphone number every time

[Alyssa XOXO]

Originally Posted by BLM69

You're the female version of 007 😂, no need to get that paranoid baby, you ever watch the first 48? Detective's always go to the stores and pull the footage of people buying their burner phones cash.

If you guys want cheap phone service, look into Hello mobile, it runs in the T-Mobile network and starts at $5 a month, mint mobile is another one that runs in the T-Mobile network at $15 monthly, I use that one to get service for my GV, I just order 3 month prepaid SIM cards from a third party seller, it gives me a new cellphone number every time

You have your version of advising folks how to hobby (by cell), and I have my personal insight of hobbying (by cell) for very many reasons that do not entail the need of watching stupid T.V shows,etc.

To each their own...

#BLUELIVESMATTER

Have a great day and Happy Hobbying!

[BLM69]

Them stupid TV shows are educational on how dumb people who think they're slick get caught, once you think you know it all, you're screwed.