textPlus: Text Message + Call

Review by eFreeware

If you have ever handed out your real phone number and regretted it, textPlus is built for that exact situation. It is a free app that issues you a genuine US phone number, then lets you text and call from it over WiFi or mobile data, no SIM card and no mobile plan required. The people most likely to want it are those juggling a second identity of sorts: freelancers keeping client calls off a personal line, travelers who need a US number while abroad, or anyone signing up for services they would rather not attach to their main number.

The pitch is straightforward. You get a number, you send SMS and MMS messages, you receive calls, and you can make outgoing calls at a low cost. The install figures back up that this is a well-worn path rather than an experiment. With over 50 million installs and a 4.1 average from more than 540,000 ratings, it is clearly doing something right for a lot of people.

It is worth setting expectations early, because the name oversells the scope slightly. The free part covers texting and receiving calls, and international calls run on credits you buy. There are ads in the app and in-app purchases available. So this is not a magic replacement for a phone plan so much as a second line that lives inside an app, with a few paid extras layered on top.

The second number is the whole point

Everything else in textPlus hangs off the second number. The developer describes it as a real US number issued instantly, and that word real matters, because the value of a second number depends entirely on whether the rest of the world treats it as legitimate. If it behaves like a normal phone number for messages and calls, then it can stand in for a work line, a travel line, or a buffer between you and whatever service is asking for your details.

The setup the developer describes is deliberately light on ceremony: no SIM, no contract, no mobile plan. That is the appeal for anyone who has looked at prepaid SIMs and decided the hassle is not worth it. A number that arrives inside an app and works over WiFi or mobile data is a much lower-commitment way to get a second line running.

What I would watch for is how you intend to use that number. A second line for incoming texts and calls is one thing; a second line you plan to make lots of outgoing calls from is another. The free calling side centers on receiving calls, so the economics favor people who mainly need to be reachable rather than people who plan to dial out all day.

Texting, photos and group chats

The core messaging feature is unlimited texting over WiFi or mobile data, covering both SMS and MMS. In practice that means ordinary text messages plus the picture-sharing and group-message side of things, which is what most people actually mean when they say they need a texting app. The developer positions this as a daily driver rather than an emergency backup, and the feature set matches that framing.

Group messages are worth calling out because they are where lightweight texting apps often fall down. If textPlus handles them alongside photo sharing and one-to-one chats, it covers the bulk of what a personal messaging thread looks like. These are standard capabilities rather than anything exotic, so the messaging side reads as competent and conventional rather than a reason on its own to switch.

The other piece is multi-device access. Messages, calls and the second number are meant to be usable from a phone or a tablet, which changes how the app fits into a day. You can leave the phone charging in one room and still answer a message from a tablet elsewhere in the house, and the number follows you rather than being tied to a single handset. For anyone who already moves between devices, that continuity is a meaningful part of the value.

Calls, credits and international dialing

Calling splits into two halves. Incoming calls come to your second number over WiFi, which is the free calling side of the app. Outgoing calls are a distinction worth holding onto when you decide how you will use the number.

International calling runs on credits you purchase. That is a familiar model for calls to numbers outside the US. This is a way to stay in touch worldwide without expensive phone plans, and for occasional calls to family or colleagues abroad, a credit balance is a reasonable way to pay for what you use rather than committing to a monthly international package.

The practical question is volume. Credits suit sporadic international calls; they are a less obvious fit if you are on the phone to another country every day, where a dedicated international plan might work out differently. Treat this as a convenience feature for occasional use rather than the app's center of gravity.

What it asks of you instead of a contract

The trade the developer is offering is simple: no contracts, no mobile plan, no SIM. In exchange, there are paid extras. That is the shape of the deal, and it is worth being clear-eyed about it before you install. A free app is a different arrangement from a paid service with a clean interface.

The paid elements are spelled out clearly. Those are the two main areas. I would not assume anything about what the paid extras cover beyond what is stated.

What you are not signing up for is a commitment. The app model here is the real advantage. If you try it and the second number does not earn its place, you walk away. That low exit cost is a genuine part of why this category of app appeals to people who would never bother with a prepaid SIM.

Where a second number actually earns its keep

The scenarios covered are privacy, work, travel and online services, and they hold up. Online services is the most immediately useful: marketplaces, delivery accounts, trial sign-ups and the like all want a phone number, and a second line keeps your primary number out of those databases. If your main number is the one tied to your bank and your family, keeping it off random sign-up forms is a small but real win.

Work is the other obvious fit. A freelancer or small business owner can put a business number on a website or invoice without exposing a personal line, and can silence it outside working hours. The app becomes the boundary between the two parts of the day, which is easier than training clients to use a different channel.

Travel and study abroad round out the list. A US number that works over WiFi is useful when you are overseas and want to stay reachable to people back home. Managing multiple numbers is the last case, and it follows naturally: if one app can hold a second line, it can hold the role of the line you give out freely.

Privacy, updates and how it holds up

The developer attaches a privacy claim to the second-number idea. That is the promise you are relying on when you use the number for anything sensitive, and it is the reason a dedicated app can feel tidier than handing your real number to every service that asks.

On maintenance, the most recent update was built with Android 16 and addressed an issue that stopped some users from selecting a premium number, along with other number-selection improvements. That tells you the app is being kept current with the platform and that number provisioning is an area the team is actively working on, which matters for an app whose entire value rests on getting you a working number.

The content rating is Everyone, and the app sits in the Social category, which fits what it does. There is nothing here that reads as niche or experimental. It is a mature, widely installed messaging app with a clear job, and the update history suggests it is being maintained rather than left to drift.

A second line worth having, with a few strings

textPlus suits anyone who wants a real US number for texting and receiving calls without a SIM or a plan. The free texting side is the strongest part of the offer, the multi-device access makes the number genuinely portable, and the low commitment means trying it costs you nothing but the install. For privacy-minded sign-ups, freelance work lines and travel, that combination is hard to argue with.

If your usage is mostly receiving messages and calls, you will get the most out of it. If you plan to dial out frequently, especially internationally, the credit model is something to weigh before you commit the number to that role.

My recommendation is to treat textPlus as a second line rather than a replacement for your main one. Give it the sign-up forms, the client calls and the travel use, keep your primary number for the people who matter, and the app does exactly what it promises. With a 4.1 average across a very large number of ratings and a recent platform update behind it, it is a reasonable place to start if a second number is what you are after.

What's new in version 8.3.6

- Built with Android 16 - Resolved an issue preventing some users from selecting a premium number. - Other number selection improvements