# How to create an email account without a phone number

> Want to create an email without a phone number? See which providers say they don't need one, why others ask, and when a temp inbox is all you really need.

Source: https://yelmail.com/blog/email-without-phone-number · Last updated: 2026-08-24

By the YelMail team · Published 2026-08-24

Yes, you can **create an email account without a phone number**. Tuta says it doesn't ask for one, Mailfence wants a backup email instead, Proton offers CAPTCHA or email checks as well as SMS, and Google asks only sometimes. Yahoo lists a mobile number as required. Policies change, so check the sign-up page itself. And if you only need to receive one code, you can skip the account altogether.

## Why do email providers ask for a phone number?

Mostly to slow down spammers. An email account costs nothing to create, so anyone sending spam wants thousands of them, and phone numbers are much harder to collect by the thousand. The number usually doubles as a way back into the account if you forget your password.

The providers say this themselves. Google's help page says that "to help protect you and stop spammers", [phone verification is sometimes required](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/114129?hl=en) before you create an account. Proton explains that its checks exist to protect its sending reputation: if spammers could easily get Proton addresses, other providers could start blocking messages from Proton's servers.

That's a fair reason. It's also a trade. A phone number is often tied to your name through your carrier, so it links the new account to you in a way a username alone doesn't. Whether that bothers you depends on why you wanted a new address in the first place.

## Which email providers don't require a phone number?

Going by their own help pages and blogs, this is where some well-known providers stand. Treat it as a starting point. The checks you actually get depend on signals providers don't publish, like your network and how many accounts have been created from it recently.

| Provider | What its own pages say | The catch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tuta | Free sign-up without a phone number, even over Tor | New accounts are sometimes held for approval, which Tuta says should clear within 48 hours. It happens most often on Tor or a VPN |
| Mailfence | No phone number, but it asks for an alternate email address so you can reset your password | You need another address that you'll keep |
| Proton Mail | You might be asked to solve a CAPTCHA, or to verify with a code sent to a phone number or another email address | You're more likely to get only email or SMS options if you create multiple accounts or use Tor |
| Gmail | Phone verification is sometimes required to confirm you're a real person | Google limits how many times one number can be used |
| Yahoo Mail | A valid mobile number is listed as needed for verification and account recovery | Required, going by its help page |

Tuta's own post on [signing up without a phone number](https://tuta.com/blog/anonymous-email) is worth reading if privacy is the main reason you're asking. Proton, for its part, says it stores only a cryptographic hash of the phone number or email used for verification, not the details themselves, according to its page on [human verification](https://proton.me/support/human-verification).

## How can you avoid being asked for a phone number?

You can't switch the check off, but you can avoid looking like the traffic it exists to stop. Proton says creating several accounts or using Tor makes stricter checks more likely, and Tuta says much the same about Tor and VPNs.

- Sign up from your normal connection if you're comfortable with the provider seeing it. It's a real trade: less privacy at sign-up, fewer hoops.
- Create one account, not several in a row.
- Pick email verification over SMS when it's offered, using an address you already have. Providers use that step to spot bulk sign-ups, and some may not accept disposable addresses for it.
- Consider a paid plan. Tuta says paying lets you skip the approval wait.

What not to do: use a free "receive SMS online" number. Those numbers are shared, anyone on the same page can read the codes, and they get recycled, so whoever uses the number next may be able to reset your account. Our guide to [temp email vs temp phone numbers](https://yelmail.com/blog/temp-email-vs-temp-phone-number) explains why that's so much riskier than a throwaway email. If Google says your own number has been used too many times, its help page suggests a family member's or friend's number instead.

## What do you give up without a phone number?

The easiest way back in. On many services, the phone is how you reset a forgotten password or prove it's you after a suspicious sign-in. Without one, set up another route on the first day:

1. Add a recovery email address that you'll still have in five years.
2. Save any recovery codes the provider offers, in a password manager or on paper somewhere safe.
3. Turn on two-step verification with an authenticator app or a passkey.
4. Keep the password in a password manager so you're not relying on recovery at all.

One mistake to avoid: never use a temporary address as your recovery email. Recovery is for getting back in months or years from now, and a temp address will be long gone by then. On a public inbox service it's worse, because anyone could read the reset link.

## Do you need a real email account at all?

Not if all you need is to receive something once. A temp inbox needs no account and no phone number, and it's ready the moment the page opens. For a download link, a Wi-Fi login or a code for a site you'll use once, that's the whole job done.

It does have hard limits. YelMail is receive-only, so you can't send or reply, and free mail is kept for 2 hours. When you need to write to people, keep the account, or reset a password next year, you need a real mailbox.

| You need to... | Temp inbox | Real mailbox |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Receive one code or link | Yes | Yes |
| Send or reply to email | No | Yes |
| Keep mail for months | No (Premium keeps it 30 days) | Yes |
| Recover an account later | No | Yes, with recovery set up |
| Skip the phone number | Yes, there's no account at all | Depends on the provider |

There's a middle option too. An alias service forwards mail from a separate address into an inbox you already have, so sites never see your real address and you don't need a new account with a new phone check. Our comparison of [temp mail and email aliases](https://yelmail.com/blog/temp-mail-vs-email-alias) covers when each fits.

## Is an email account without a phone number anonymous?

More private, not anonymous. Skipping the phone number removes one strong link to your identity, but the provider can still see the IP address you signed up from unless you hide it, and payment details if you pay. The people you write to see whatever name you put on the account. For what an address does and doesn't hide, see [whether temp mail can be traced](https://yelmail.com/blog/can-temp-mail-be-traced).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I create a Gmail account without a phone number?

Sometimes. Google's help says phone verification is sometimes required to confirm you're a real person, and it doesn't publish exactly when. If you aren't asked, you can finish sign-up without a number. If you are, there's no official way to skip the step, and Google's own suggestion is to use a family member's or friend's number if yours has hit its limit.

### Can I use a temp mail address as my recovery email?

You can type one in, but it defeats the point. A recovery address exists so you can get back into your account long after you've forgotten the password, and a temporary address will have expired by then. On a public inbox service, anyone who types the same name could also read your reset link. Use an address you'll keep.

### Why did Proton ask me for SMS or email when a friend only got a CAPTCHA?

Proton's help page says several factors decide which checks you see. It specifically mentions that creating multiple accounts or using the Tor browser makes it more likely you'll get only email or SMS options. Beyond that, providers don't publish how they decide, so two people can see different steps on the same day.

### Is an email provider that doesn't ask for a phone number less secure?

Not necessarily. Security depends far more on your password, two-step verification and how you recover the account than on whether a number was collected at sign-up. What you lose is a convenient recovery route, so replace it on day one with a backup address, recovery codes and an authenticator app, and the account can be just as solid.

## Where to go from here

If you need a mailbox you'll write from and keep, pick the provider that fits, sign up without a VPN if you can live with that, and set up recovery before you do anything else. If you only need to receive something once, a [free temp mail inbox](https://yelmail.com/) is ready without a phone number or an account.