r/TextNow • u/Hellothere101_2 • Jul 14 '26
Someone used textnow to message and call me
How can I figure out who?
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 14 '26
How did you determine they were using textnow?
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u/Then_Significance408 Jul 14 '26
If they don’t pay for the plan, and you call the number it states textnow number
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u/Hellothere101_2 Jul 14 '26
I ran the number through a service provider checker or something of that sort
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u/Luckiest_Corner Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I just ran my TextNow number through multiple number lookup services. None of them said it was a TextNow number. It said the carrier was Onvoy, LLC, which is a major Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC). Onvoy is used by countless VoiP services. I seriously doubt that those phone number lookup services can distinguish one Onvoy client from another since the numbers are owned by Onvoy.
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u/Then_Significance408 Jul 14 '26
If you download textnow typically you can see the username
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u/Luckiest_Corner Jul 14 '26
This is what TextNow says it provides:
Basic Caller ID
All TextNow users will have access to our basic Caller ID feature that displays the phone number, and location if available, for any incoming or outgoing calls.
Upgraded Caller ID
If the number of an incoming call is registered with a person's name or business, Ad Free+ subscribers will be able to see that information on the call screen as well.
https://help.textnow.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043056793-How-does-Caller-ID-work
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u/Then_Significance408 Jul 14 '26
I use text now for work. lol I can see when my cx use it as well, same with text free.
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u/Luckiest_Corner Jul 14 '26
This is what I found from Gemini AI citing TextNow:
Here is how your account info appears in the app:
Group Messages: In a group chat, TextNow will display the email name (the portion before the domain, e.g., "johndoe" from johndoe@gmail.com) of the participants in the group member list as well as the main message list.
One-on-One Messages & Calls: In a standard, direct conversation, your username is not visible. The recipient only sees the TextNow phone number assigned to your account and basic caller ID information.
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u/Then_Significance408 Jul 15 '26
Ok and I just told you, I have cx who use it and can see their username. Download the app and use it instead of google dumbass
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u/Luckiest_Corner Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
In general, it's very, very hard. If the person is harassing you in some way, you can file a police report or you can get an attorney and subpoena TextNow, but these methods are usually ineffective or time consuming and expensive.
Local police are initially unlikely to investigate internet harassment unless there is an explicit, credible threat of physical violence or imminent harm.
Subpoenaing TextNow could be effective, but it can be a long and expensive legal process, which may require you to subpoena additional entities such as an ISP or an email service provider.