United Kingdom · anonymous SMS
Send an anonymous text to a UK mobile
Ghost delivers your text to any UK mobile 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.
What a text to the UK costs
One SMS segment to a UK mobile costs 1 credit ($0.20). A segment holds 160 characters of plain text, and texts to the UK start with “GHOST:”, which counts toward that. The pound sign is part of the basic SMS alphabet, so prices in £ cost nothing extra. Curly apostrophes and quotation marks, which many phone keyboards insert on their own, are not: one of them switches the whole text to 70-character segments. 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) |
| English, with curly apostrophes | 78 characters | UCS-2 | 2 segments | 2 credits ($0.40) |
| Welsh | 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 UK mobile number
Written locally
07xxx xxxxxx
Type in Ghost
+44 7xxx xxxxxx
- Open Ghost in your browser or the Android app.
- Choose United Kingdom (+44) in the country list and type the mobile number.
- Write your text, check the credits shown under it, and send.
Choose United Kingdom, then type the number without the 0 at the front: 07700 900123 becomes 7700 900123. UK mobiles start with 071 to 075 or 077 to 079 at home. Numbers starting 070 are personal numbers that forward to another phone, and 076 numbers are pagers, so neither is a mobile even though it starts with 07. Isle of Man mobiles (07624) work the same way.
What the person in the UK 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.
- 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 the UK
Most UK texts are in English, and Welsh is spoken by around 538,000 people in Wales. Both are written in Latin letters, but a few characters decide whether a text fits in one segment.
English, plain
Hi, is the sofa still available? I can pay £40 and collect it from Leeds on Saturday morning.GSM-7, 100 characters, 1 segment: 1 credit ($0.20)
Everything here, the £ sign included, is in the basic SMS alphabet, so a text like this stays at 160 characters a segment.
English, with curly apostrophes
Hi, it’s your neighbour from number 12. Your car’s lights are still on.UCS-2, 78 characters, 2 segments: 2 credits ($0.40)
Switched to UCS-2 by: ’
The curly ’ is outside the basic alphabet, so this short note is sent in 70-character segments. Typing a straight apostrophe (') instead keeps the full 160.
Welsh
Diolch! Mae'r tŷ ar gael i'w weld ddydd Sadwrn.UCS-2, 54 characters, 1 segment: 1 credit ($0.20)
Switched to UCS-2 by: ŷ
Welsh letters with a circumflex, such as ŷ, ŵ and ê, are outside the basic alphabet. A Welsh text with any of them is sent in 70-character segments, so keep it short to stay in one.
When people in the UK keep their number private
Buying and selling second-hand
Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace listings put buyers and sellers in touch with strangers, and a phone number shared there can end up in scam lists. Message the seller through Ghost to agree a price and a pickup time, and give your own number only once you are happy to.
Flatshares and viewings
Renting a room through SpareRoom or a similar site means texting people you have never met to arrange viewings. Ghost lets you ask the questions first without handing out your mobile to every advertiser.
A note you would rather not sign
Telling a neighbour their car alarm has been going off, or letting a group organiser know you can’t make it, is easier without a reply thread on your own phone. Keep the tone polite: the law below cares about what you write, not about the number being hidden.
UK law on anonymous texts
Sending a text without showing your number is not an offence in itself. What you write is what matters: sending a grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message over a phone network is an offence under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, threatening messages and knowingly false ones are covered by sections 181 and 179 of the Online Safety Act 2023, and a series of unwanted texts can be harassment. Scotland has its own offence of threatening or abusive behaviour. Marketing texts need the recipient’s prior consent under regulation 22 of PECR.
Got a text you did not want?
If a text looks like a scam, forward it to 7726, the number UK networks run for reporting spam; it is free on most networks. To stop texts sent through Ghost, add your number on the stop page. For abuse or threats, keep the messages and contact the police.
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 a curly apostrophe, an emoji or a Welsh circumflex 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.
Ghost is for mobiles. UK mobile numbers start with 071 to 075 or 077 to 079; 070 numbers forward calls to another phone and 076 numbers are pagers, and texts to landlines may never arrive.
Yes, hiding your number is legal. Sending grossly offensive, menacing, threatening or knowingly false messages, or texting someone persistently to harass them, is a criminal offence whether or not your number shows.
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