Sometimes this is last thing you want to hear. Perhaps he’s not your type or he’s had a few too many at the bar—whatever the reason, you don’t want your personal information in his (or her) hands.

Of course, you can always say no to the strange guy at the bar. But giving away your phone number even to people who you’re interested in seeing again is risky.

Abine’s simple solution is a fake phone number (well, there’s more to Masked Phones, so stick with us for a second).

The beauty of Masked Phone numbers is that your “fake” phone number will forward calls and texts to your real phone, but you’ll have the power to end his (or her) calls and texts in one click.

With other services, you can generate a traditional fake phone number or make a blocked call, but this means that the person on the other end of the line won’t have a chance of contacting you. For the strange bar guy, this might be a perfect arrangement. On other occasions, though, you might prefer that the lines of communication stay open.

Rest assured. You can give out your fake phone number to the person who sparked your fancy without spoiling your chances of ever speaking to them again.

What exactly does a Masked Phone number do for me?

Privacy today isn’t about shielding yourself from the rest of the world: it’s about staying in control of your personal data and not putting it at risk. The popularity of social sharing can make this task tricky, but Masked Phones makes your cell number easy to protect.

Your fake Masked Phone number is also an easy guard against bad judgement. If the person you met the night before turns out to be more threatening than you thought, you have the option to block their calls and texts.

This type of blocking is different from ignoring a call or text message to your real phone number. Once someone is in possession of your personal phone number, a simple web search can reveal more information about you, such as your full name and address.  Access to the internet makes one piece of info—like your phone number—a gateway to more of your personal information.

The best way to avoid this problem is by using Masked Phones. Abine makes the numbers easier to commit to memory by keeping your area code the same.

Worried that a fake phone number is too deceiving? Remember that your “fake” number is entirely real until you decide that you don’t want it to be.