GuidesPhone verification
How to verify someone's phone number
Ask if someone has a verified phone number, if it's a mobile, or which country it's from. They prove it with a code sent by SMS, in the Prson app. You get a yes or no signed by Prson, not the number.
- Answered in the Prson app
- Signed by Prson
- Only the answer is shared
Phone check
How it works
Three steps, on their phone.
Ask
Pick what you need to know in the Prson app and send it as a link, by WhatsApp, email or wherever you talk. Organisations can ask from their own website or app, or through an AI agent.
They prove it on their phone
If they haven't yet, they confirm their number in the Prson app by typing a code Prson sends it by SMS. Then they see who is asking and what, and choose to answer or decline.
Get a yes or no
The answer comes back signed by Prson, so it can't be edited, and it's valid for a limited time. You learn "Mobile number: yes" and nothing more.
What you can ask
Pick the question. Get a yes or no.
Where the answer comes from: a code sent by SMS to their phone.
Need the number itself? You can ask them to share it. They see that before they agree.
Search every fact Prson can verifyPhone facts in the developer docs
Honest limits
What a yes proves, and what it doesn't.
A yes proves
- They could receive texts on that number when they verified it.
- Whether it is a mobile, and its country, as the international numbering plan lists the number.
A yes doesn't prove
- Whose name the line is in.
- Where the person is: the country comes from the number, not from where they are.
- A live check with the phone company: a number moved to another network keeps its original type.
- Whether a US or Canadian number is a mobile: their numbering plan doesn't separate mobiles from landlines (nor do a few others), so there's no answer there.
- Internet (VoIP) numbers are not counted as mobiles.
- A phone verification lasts 365 days.
- Phone verification has to be switched on where the person is. See coverage by country
When people ask
A few examples.
- A marketplace seller who should be reachable
- A service only for numbers from your country
- Telling a mobile from an internet number
For organisations
Ask from your website, app or AI agent.
The same questions work through the Prson API: send the request, the person answers in the Prson app, and you get the answer signed by Prson.
Questions
Questions, answered.
Will I see their phone number?
No, only the yes or no you asked for. If you need the number itself, you can ask them to share it, and they see that before they agree.
Why is there no answer about a US number being a mobile?
In the US, Canada and a few other countries, mobiles and landlines share the same number ranges, so the number alone can't tell. Prson gives no answer rather than guess. Asking whether they have a verified number, or its country, still works.
Does a number's country tell me where they live?
No. It comes from the number itself, under the international numbering plan. People keep numbers from one country while living in another. To know where someone lives, ask about a verified address.
How long does a phone verification last?
365 days. After that the person verifies their number again.
Does it work in every country?
Phone verification has to be switched on where the person is. The coverage page on prson.net lists where it works.
Does the other person need the Prson app?
Yes, to answer. The Prson app is free on iPhone and Android, and in private beta now. You don't need anything to ask but the app or a link from an organisation that uses Prson.
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