Frequently Asked Questions

We offer two rental types for phone numbers, each designed for different use cases:

⭐ Long-term Rental Full SMS capabilities with dedicated Android gateway device. Your number shows as the sender.

⏱️ Short-term Rental Receive SMS and send via shared gateway. Sender may appear as "SMS" instead of your number.

The key difference is how outgoing SMS messages are handled:

Choose based on your needs:

Choose Long-term if you need:

• Your number to appear as the sender for outgoing SMS
• Full SMS capabilities for business communication
• Reliable two-way SMS with dedicated infrastructure

Choose Short-term if you:

• Only need to receive SMS (verification codes, etc.)
• Don't mind if your number doesn't show when sending
• Want a more cost-effective solution

No, rental types are set when you purchase or reserve a phone number. If you need a different rental type, you'll need to purchase a new phone number with the desired rental type.

A dedicated Android gateway device is a physical Android phone with your SIM card installed. It handles all SMS sending and receiving for your number, ensuring your number always appears as the sender.

Yes! With long-term rental, your phone number will always appear as the sender when you send SMS messages. Recipients will see your actual number, not a generic "SMS" sender.

Very reliable. Each long-term number has a dedicated device, so there's no sharing of resources. Messages are delivered directly through the mobile carrier network, just like from a regular phone.

Long-term rental includes dedicated hardware (an Android device), your SIM card in a dedicated slot, and guaranteed delivery with your number as sender. The higher cost covers the exclusive infrastructure and premium features.

Short-term numbers use a shared gateway service (like Vonage) for sending SMS. Multiple numbers share this infrastructure, which keeps costs lower but means your number may not appear as the sender.

Short-term rentals use shared gateway services that prioritize cost-efficiency over sender ID. The recipient may see "SMS" or a generic sender ID instead of your number. Receiving SMS always works normally.

Absolutely! Receiving SMS works perfectly with short-term rental. You'll get all incoming messages immediately. The limitation is only for outgoing SMS sender identification.

Yes, short-term rental is more cost-effective because it uses shared infrastructure. It's perfect if you primarily need to receive SMS (like verification codes) rather than send with your number as the identified sender.

The API works the same for both rental types. The only difference is how outgoing SMS are delivered - long-term uses dedicated gateways, short-term uses shared gateways. All API endpoints and features remain consistent.

You can see your rental type in multiple places:

• All email notifications show your rental type with colored badges
• Your dashboard displays rental type next to each phone number
• The billing page shows rental type for all subscriptions

Yes, webhook payloads include the rental_type field for phone number related events, so your application can handle different rental types accordingly.

When you rent a short-term or virtual number and send SMS to certain countries, the message is delivered via a secure web link instead of a regular text message. This is because some countries have strict rules about SMS from online services.

Short-term & Virtual numbers: Use secure link delivery for restricted countries.

Long-term numbers: Not affected! They use real SIM cards and send regular SMS to any country, just like your personal phone.

Many countries have laws to prevent spam. They require businesses to register before sending SMS. Since our short-term and virtual numbers use a cloud service (Vonage), they're treated as business messages and face these restrictions. It's not something we control - it's how phone carriers work.

Instead of your message appearing as a regular text, the recipient gets a short SMS with a link to read your message on our secure website. They can view your full message and reply - either through the website or by SMS.

They receive: "[Crypton.sh] You have a new message! View it here: https://crypton.sh/msg/xxxxx"

When they click the link, they see your full message and can reply directly.

Rent a long-term number! Long-term rentals come with a dedicated device and real SIM card. They send SMS just like a regular phone - no restrictions, no secure links, direct delivery to any country.

Yes, absolutely! These restrictions only affect outgoing messages. You can receive SMS from anywhere in the world without any issues.

Currently 67 countries require secure link delivery for short-term and virtual numbers. This list updates automatically based on carrier regulations.

Long-term rental typically costs more due to dedicated infrastructure. Pricing varies by country and operator. You can see exact pricing for both rental types on the purchase page before buying.

No, you cannot convert an existing number between rental types. Rental type is permanent for each phone number. If you need a different rental type, you'll need to purchase a new number.

Refund policies are the same for both rental types. Please refer to our Terms of Service for detailed refund information. Generally, unused time may be refunded within the first 7 days of purchase.