Canada · anonymous SMS
Send an anonymous text to a Canadian cell phone
Ghost sends your text to any Canadian cell phone without showing your number. A standard text costs 1 credit ($0.20), there is no subscription, and you can send it from a browser on any phone or computer or from the Android app. Writing in French? Some accents cost nothing extra and others shorten your segments.
What a text to Canada costs
One SMS segment to a Canadian number costs 1 credit ($0.20). A segment holds 160 characters of plain text, and texts to Canada start with “GHOST:”, which counts toward that. French accents split two ways: é, è, à and ù are in the basic SMS alphabet, but ê, â, î, ô, û, ç, ë, ï and œ are not, and one of them switches the whole text to 70-character segments. Emoji and curly apostrophes do the same. The table shows what that does to the cost.
| Text | Characters | Encoding | Segments | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A short message | 89 characters | GSM-7 | 1 segment | 1 credit ($0.20) |
| A longer message | 282 characters | GSM-7 | 2 segments | 2 credits ($0.40) |
| English, plain | 100 characters | GSM-7 | 1 segment | 1 credit ($0.20) |
| French, basic alphabet | 87 characters | GSM-7 | 1 segment | 1 credit ($0.20) |
| French, with ê | 54 characters | UCS-2 | 1 segment | 1 credit ($0.20) |
Counts include the “GHOST: ” prefix these texts start with. Rates checked October 22, 2026. Rates for every country
How to type a Canadian cell number
Written locally
(xxx) xxx-xxxx
Type in Ghost
+1 xxx xxx xxxx
- Open Ghost in your browser or the Android app.
- Choose Canada (+1) in the country list and type the mobile number.
- Write your text, check the credits shown under it, and send.
Choose Canada, then type the 10 digits: the three-digit area code and the seven-digit number. Leave out the 1 that people dial before long-distance numbers, because Ghost adds +1 for you. Canada shares the +1 code with the US, and cell phones and landlines use the same area codes, so the format alone does not tell you whether a number is a cell. Numbers from 555-0100 to 555-0199 are reserved as fictitious, non-working numbers for movies and ads.
What the person in Canada sees
- The text arrives as an ordinary SMS from a Ghost mobile number. Your own number is not shown anywhere in it.
- It starts with “GHOST:”, so they can tell it came through Ghost. Nothing in it says who you are unless you write it.
- Canadian carriers filter texts sent through SMS services strictly. A text that looks automated, or that contains profanity, hate speech or anything resembling a scam, may be held back, so write the way you would to someone you know.
- Replying from their messages app does not reach you. If you want an answer, switch on a Reply Link: they open it in a browser and send you one reply, still without seeing your number.
- Anyone who would rather not get Ghost texts can block them on the stop page. Ghost will not send to a number on that list.
Writing a text for Canada
English is the first official language of about three in four Canadians and French of about one in five, rising to 82% in Quebec. In French, the accent you type decides how much fits in a segment.
English, plain
Hi, is the snowblower on Kijiji still available? I can come by Saturday morning and pay cash.GSM-7, 100 characters, 1 segment: 1 credit ($0.20)
Everything here is in the basic SMS alphabet, so this text and the “GHOST:” in front of it fit in one 160-character segment.
French, basic alphabet
Bonjour, le vélo est-il toujours à vendre? Je peux passer le voir samedi à 10 h.GSM-7, 87 characters, 1 segment: 1 credit ($0.20)
The é and à are in the basic SMS alphabet, so this French text keeps 160-character segments.
French, with ê
Bonjour, votre fenêtre est ouverte et il pleut.UCS-2, 54 characters, 1 segment: 1 credit ($0.20)
Switched to UCS-2 by: ê
The ê in “fenêtre” is outside the basic alphabet, so the whole text, “GHOST:” included, is sent in 70-character segments. A short note like this still fits in one; in a longer text, every ê, ç, â, ô or œ is worth checking.
When people in Canada keep their number private
Buying and selling on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace
Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace are where many Canadians buy used goods online; in a 2025 Angus Reid and DIG360 survey, 76% of people who had bought something pre-owned in the past year had used Facebook Marketplace. Message the seller through Ghost to agree a price and a pickup time, and give your own number only once you are happy to.
Asking before you commit
A question about a used car, a crib or a set of winter tires puts your number in a stranger’s phone. Ghost lets you ask first and decide later whether to share it.
A note you would rather not sign
Telling a neighbor their car is blocking the laneway, or that their porch light has been on for days, is easier without a reply thread on your own phone. Keep it polite: the Criminal Code below looks at intent and content, not at whether your number shows.
Canadian law on anonymous texts
Sending a text without showing your number is not an offence in itself. Under section 372 of the Criminal Code, it is an offence to repeatedly communicate with someone by telecommunication with intent to harass them, to send an indecent communication to alarm or annoy, or to convey information you know is false to injure or alarm. Criminal harassment (section 264) and uttering threats (section 264.1) apply to texts as well. Commercial texts need the recipient’s consent under section 6 of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation.
Got a text you did not want?
If a text looks like a scam, forward it to 7726 (SPAM): it is free in Canada and lets your carrier investigate and block similar messages. Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and your local police as well. To stop texts sent through Ghost, add your number on the stop page.
Questions and answers
A text of up to 160 plain characters costs 1 credit ($0.20), including the “GHOST:” at the start. Longer texts are charged per segment, and an emoji, a curly apostrophe or a French letter such as ê or ç shortens each segment to 70 characters. Ghost shows the cost before you send.
An SMS from a Ghost mobile number that starts with “GHOST:”. Your number is not in it, and nothing identifies you unless you put it in the text.
Not by replying in their messages app. Add a Reply Link when you send, and they can open it in a browser and send you one reply without seeing your number. A Reply Link costs 3 credits plus the reply’s rate and works for 7 days.
Yes. Texts with é, è, à or ù keep 160-character segments, while ê, â, î, ô, û, ç or œ switch the whole text to 70-character segments. The page shows the encoding and cost of each sample above.
Yes, hiding your number is legal. Repeatedly texting someone to harass them, sending threats, or sending false information to alarm someone are Criminal Code offences whether or not your number shows.
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