The Developer's Guide to Test Phone Numbers
Why using real phone numbers in testing is a bad idea, and how to use reserved ranges effectively.
2024-12-01•Best Practices
The Risks of Real Numbers
Using real phone numbers carries significant risks:
- Accidental Spam: Connecting to a live SMS gateway might spam real people.
- Privacy Violations: Using customer data is a violation of GDPR/CCPA.
Solution: Reserved Ranges
Many countries have specific ranges reserved for testing. For example, in the US, 555-0100 through 555-0199 is reserved.