Germany · anonymous SMS
Send an anonymous text to a German mobile
Ghost delivers your text to any mobile in Germany without showing your number. A standard text costs 2 credits ($0.40), there is no subscription, and you can send it from a browser on any phone or computer. Umlauts and ß are part of the basic SMS alphabet, so a text in German usually keeps the full 160 characters.
What a text to Germany costs
One SMS segment to a German mobile costs 2 credits ($0.40). A segment holds 160 characters of plain text, and texts to Germany start with “GHOST:”, which counts toward that. ä, ö, ü, their capitals and ß are all in the basic SMS alphabet, and so is the € sign, which counts as two characters. Punctuation is what changes the cost: the German quotation marks „ “ and the curly apostrophe ’ are outside the basic alphabet, and one of them switches the whole text to 70-character segments.
| Text | Characters | Encoding | Segments | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A short message | 89 characters | GSM-7 | 1 segment | 2 credits ($0.40) |
| A longer message | 282 characters | GSM-7 | 2 segments | 4 credits ($0.80) |
| German, with umlauts and ß | 117 characters | GSM-7 | 1 segment | 2 credits ($0.40) |
| German, with „ “ quotation marks | 114 characters | UCS-2 | 2 segments | 4 credits ($0.80) |
| German, with a curly apostrophe | 73 characters | UCS-2 | 2 segments | 4 credits ($0.80) |
Counts include the “GHOST: ” prefix these texts start with. Rates checked October 22, 2026. Rates for every country
How to type a German mobile number
Written locally
01xx xxxxxxxx
Type in Ghost
+49 1xx xxxxxxxx
- Open Ghost in your browser or the Android app.
- Choose Germany (+49) in the country list and type the mobile number.
- Write your text, check the credits shown under it, and send.
Choose Germany, then type the number without the 0 at the front: 0171 3920042, from the Bundesnetzagentur’s range of numbers for films and TV, becomes 171 3920042. German mobiles start with 015, 0160, 0162, 0163 or 017, and after the prefix come seven or eight more digits, depending on the network. Other numbers starting 016, such as the pager ranges 0164, 0168 and 0169, are not mobiles.
What the person in Germany 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.
- The Bundesnetzagentur warns about the “Hallo Mama, das ist meine neue Nummer” family scam, fake parcel notices and fake bank texts. A text from an unknown number that does not say why it was sent can look like one of them, so give the context early.
- 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 in German
German is written in Latin letters plus ä, ö, ü and ß, and all of them fit the basic SMS alphabet. Its punctuation is what can make a text more expensive.
German, with umlauts and ß
Hallo, ist das Fahrrad noch zu haben? Ich könnte es am Samstag abholen und 80 € bar zahlen. Viele Grüße, JonasGSM-7, 117 characters, 1 segment: 2 credits ($0.40)
ö, ü and ß are all in the basic SMS alphabet, so this text stays at 160 characters a segment. The € sign counts as two characters.
German, with „ “ quotation marks
Die Wohnung in der Lindenstraße ist leider schon „weg“, aber ich melde mich, sobald wieder etwas frei wird.UCS-2, 114 characters, 2 segments: 4 credits ($0.80)
Switched to UCS-2 by: „ “
The German quotation marks „ and “ are outside the basic alphabet, so this text is sent in 70-character segments and needs two. With plain " marks the same text fits in one.
German, with a curly apostrophe
Wie geht’s? Ich stehe am Bahnhof, Ausgang Süd, und warte auf dich.UCS-2, 73 characters, 2 segments: 4 credits ($0.80)
Switched to UCS-2 by: ’
The curly apostrophe in geht’s pushes this short text past 70 characters into a second segment. Typed with a straight apostrophe (geht's), it fits in one.
When people in Germany keep their number private
Selling on Kleinanzeigen
Kleinanzeigen, called eBay Kleinanzeigen until 2023, is one of Germany’s biggest classifieds sites, and selling a bike or a sofa there means dealing with buyers you have never met. Use Ghost to agree the price and a pickup time without your number ending up with every interested buyer.
Looking for a WG room or a flat
WG-Gesucht calls itself Germany’s largest flatshare platform, and ImmobilienScout24 says about 19 million people a month use its property marketplace. Ghost lets you ask about a room or a viewing before you hand out your mobile number.
A note to a neighbour
Letting a neighbour know their car window is open is easier without starting a thread on your own phone. Keep it polite: German law cares about what you write and how often, not about the number being hidden.
German law on anonymous texts
Sending a text without showing your number is not an offence in itself. What you send matters: repeatedly contacting someone by phone or text in a way that can significantly affect their life is stalking (Nachstellung) under § 238 StGB, threats are covered by § 241 StGB (Bedrohung) and insults by § 185 StGB (Beleidigung). Sending pornographic content to someone who did not ask for it is an offence under § 184 StGB, and breaking a court order not to contact someone is one under § 4 of the Gewaltschutzgesetz. Advertising texts need the recipient’s prior express consent under § 7 UWG.
Got a text you did not want?
If a text looks like spam or a scam, report it to the Bundesnetzagentur with its online form for unwanted SMS. Deutsche Telekom also asks its customers to forward suspicious texts to 7726. If you lost money, it is fraud and you can report it to the police. 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 2 credits ($0.40), including the “GHOST:” at the start. Umlauts and ß cost nothing extra, but German quotation marks, a curly apostrophe or an emoji shorten each segment to 70 characters. Ghost shows the cost before you send.
No. Choose Germany and type the number without its first 0, so 0171 3920042 becomes 171 3920042. German mobile numbers start with 15, 160, 162, 163 or 17 once the 0 is gone.
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.
Hiding your number is not an offence in itself. Stalking someone with repeated messages, threatening or insulting them is, under the German Criminal Code, whether or not your number shows.
Other country guides