Following the mass introduction of phone number verification for many foreign social networks and applications, in 2023 the public’s interest in the virtual number service, which allows registration via SMS, has increased dramatically.
This is evidenced by Google statistics, where the number of searches for the keyword “virtual phone number” at the beginning of 2023 increased by one and a half times compared to the same period in 2022. The trend was confirmed by representatives of SMS verification services SMS-man and cloud telephony Hushed, a well-known online edition writes.
It refers to services that allow you to rent a mobile number in another country for a few minutes or hours. In the second half of 2022, the number of user requests for the phrase “virtual number” was 940 thousand, and in the second half of 2022 it rose to 1.6 million, according to the service “Google Trends”.
Interest in the service jumped in September 2022, but the main growth came at the beginning of the new year 2023: in September the number of requests was at the level of 223 thousand, and by December it rose to 370 thousand. At the beginning of 2023 increased interest in the service has remained, according to statistics from Google.
According to Google Trends statistics, the popularity and mass popularity of virtual telephony services in search queries around the world increased by an average of 78%.
What is virtual phone number service and is it legal?
Virtual phone number service is provided by so-called SMS verification services. These services use SIM-gateway, where cards of different operators are inserted, and SMS message content is transferred by special software on provider’s side. As a result, any user can get a phone number online and receive SMS through a website or an application, said one of the owners of such a service.
From a legal point of view, this service is legal. As a rule, most such companies are officially registered and operate in accordance with the laws of the country where they are resident. But there are some countries where services of this kind are forbidden due to strict SIM card accounting.
What is the future growth outlook for virtual numbering services for SMS?
Numerous advantages contribute to the popularity of IP-telephony: absence of wires (the service operates over the Internet) and binding to physical address, device and user (one phone number can be used by several employees at once via personal account of the provider). Other advantages include availability, functionality and ease of use.
According to our data, the popularity of virtual numbers will continue to grow (if only because the majority of Internet resources request a mobile number for registration). Although the service has been around for 8 years, it still accounts for a significant share of demand.
The demand for IP telephony is growing amongst companies and users from all over the world such as the USA, India, China, Germany and the UK to name but a few.
Depending on the scale of the business, its objectives and geography, users can choose between different types of virtual numbers to solve any text messaging problem.
Conclusion
Virtual numbers are becoming increasingly popular in our digital age, and no wonder. They offer greater freedom and flexibility in business and everyday life, allowing many tasks to be completed online. While there are many benefits to virtual numbers, there are some limitations to consider, such as possible connection delays or the need to store data in a cloud service. Nevertheless, in general, virtual numbers are a useful and promising tool for businesses in the digital transformation.
