Can I manage who is able to talk to my teen?

TextNow is like any other phone service. To reach a TextNow user, a person must enter the user’s phone number to reach them.  However, unlike some phone services, TextNow users do have the ability to change numbers.  TextNow also recycles phone numbers from inactive users using our free services. This means that your teen may receive messages from people they may not know because the person who was assigned the phone number previously did not update their contacts with their new phone number.

Your teen can text #STOP to any number on any carrier or platform (not just TextNow) to prevent the person from sending your teen any further calls or messages. To unblock the number, your teen can text #UNBLOCK to the number.

Your teen can also block the number directly in the app.  To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Tap on the conversation or call log from the number you want to block
2. Use the drop-down menu (it’s the icon with the three dots in the top right-hand corner) and choose Block Number
3. To unblock the number, choose Unblock Number from that same menu, or tap Unblock at the bottom of the conversation with the blocked number.

If you or your teen are concerned that they have received unwanted calls or messages, your teen can change their phone number directly through the TextNow app.  It is important to note that once the phone number has been released the changes are irreversible and your teen won’t be able to have their previous phone number reassigned. Please see this article for information about how to release and get a new phone number.

There may be times that you suspect that another person has logged into your teen’s account, or your teen simply forgot to log out of a device that they were only temporarily using.  We have a solution for this.  TextNow users can logout of their account on all devices simultaneously.

Android users can perform this universal logout through the app on their device.  Web and iOS users must use the web browser to complete this task.  Please see this article for additional information about how to complete this.