Second‑Line Privacy Review
TextNow Review: Free Isn’t Free When Your Data Is the Product
TextNow promises unlimited calls and texts for the unbeatable price of free. But look closer and you’ll discover the real cost is your personal data—monetized through invasive advertising and extensive tracking. This comprehensive review dissects TextNow’s ad‑supported business model, its privacy‑policy loopholes, and why privacy‑minded users should consider more respectful alternatives like ChatOdyssey Phone Relay.
Introduction
For over a decade, TextNow has positioned itself as the go‑to option for anyone seeking a second phone number on a budget. Its unique selling point is simple: you can place VoIP calls and send SMS messages in the U.S. and Canada without paying a dime. On paper, that’s impressive—particularly for students, freelancers, and small businesses that need an additional line. Yet, behind the glossy promise of “free forever” lies an aggressive ad‑tech apparatus that tracks user behavior, siphons personal data, and sells attention to the highest bidder.
This article unpacks exactly how TextNow makes money, the breadth of data it collects, why its privacy guarantees are thin at best, and how it stacks up against paid, privacy‑first options such as Burner, Google Voice, and ChatOdyssey Phone Relay. By the end, you’ll understand why free can sometimes be the most expensive option when it comes to your personal information.
The Allure of “Free”—and Its Hidden Price
TextNow’s marketing celebrates its status as the “largest free + premium ad‑supported phone service” in North America (TextNow Advertising). In practical terms, the free tier is sustained by an ad network that turns every screen in the app into billboard real estate. A quick scroll through your message history reveals banner units, interstitials, and even full‑screen takeovers—each one engineered to harvest engagement metrics and behavioral insights.
Community feedback confirms the distraction. In a popular Reddit thread, long‑time users complain they “miss real incoming texts” because marketing placements visually drown out legitimate messages. In 2025, a critical Forbes review echoed the sentiment, calling the interface “too cluttered to serve as a reliable primary phone service.” Unsurprisingly, TextNow offers a premium subscription (about $9.99/month) to remove ads. The upsell is clear: either pay with your data or with dollars.
Inside TextNow’s Business Model
TextNow partners with dozens of ad exchanges and data brokers to monetize its user base. Its advertising portal highlights sophisticated “targeting capabilities” that leverage device details, usage metrics, and in‑app behavior. While TextNow doesn’t publicly list every data point it captures, its own privacy policy confirms the collection of personal identifiers (email, IP address, and device IDs), usage logs for calls and texts, and location estimates derived from network information.
Perhaps more troubling, the policy allows TextNow to “share” this data with “advertising networks, analytics providers, and business partners,” enabling cross‑platform profiling. Attempts to mask your footprint—such as connecting via a VPN—often break core functionality, as several AlternativeTo reviewers note. In effect, TextNow penalizes privacy‑minded users who dare to obscure their IP addresses.
Privacy Policy Red Flags
A careful reading of TextNow’s policy reveals multiple loopholes that prioritize corporate growth over user confidentiality. The company claims it does not “sell” data, but the wide latitude to “share” information with third‑party networks effectively achieves the same end: monetizing your profile for targeted ads. There is no explicit data‑retention limit, meaning your call logs and message metadata could live on TextNow’s servers indefinitely. And because calls and texts pass through TextNow’s cloud infrastructure, the company can—if compelled—hand over message content when presented with a legal request.
User Experience: Ads, Spam, and Clutter
Beyond privacy concerns, TextNow’s relentless advertising impacts daily usability. Banner ads squeeze message threads, full‑screen promos interrupt typing, and some promotions autoplay audio. The app has also developed a reputation as a haven for spam. Because obtaining a number is effortless and free, scammers frequently leverage TextNow for mass‑messaging campaigns, leading many online services to block TextNow numbers for two‑factor authentication.
Comparison: TextNow vs. Leading Alternatives
How does TextNow stack up against privacy‑first competitors? The table below highlights key differences among the most popular second‑line options.
| Service | Cost Model | Ads & Tracking | Privacy Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| TextNow | Free (ad‑supported) or $9.99/mo no‑ads | Heavy in‑app ads, device and usage tracking | Low – data retained and shared with partners |
| Google Voice | Free (personal) / Google Workspace pricing | No in‑app ads, but data feeds Google ecosystem | Low‑Moderate – tied to Google identity |
| Burner | $4.99/mo after trial | No ads; revenue from subscriptions | Moderate – disposable numbers, minimal data sharing |
| ChatOdyssey Phone Relay | Free trial, then $4.99/mo Includes unlimited email relay & one masked phone number |
Zero ads; no third‑party trackers | High – end‑to‑end relay, minimal retention |
TextNow Pros and Cons
Pros
- Truly free calling and texting in the U.S./Canada
- Quick setup across iOS, Android, and Web platforms
- Premium plan removes ads if you choose to pay
Cons
- Intrusive ads clutter the interface and track behavior
- Extensive data sharing with advertising partners
- Message content stored unencrypted on company servers
- Numbers frequently used for spam, reducing reliability
- VPN usage often blocked, hindering anonymity
Conclusion: Free Comes at a High Privacy Cost
TextNow delivers on one promise—low‑cost connectivity—but fails on a more important one: protecting your privacy. Its reliance on advertising demands expansive data collection, aggressive tracking, and a user experience saturated with marketing distractions. If you value confidentiality or simply want a clean interface, the hidden price of “free” is far too steep.
Instead, consider paid yet affordable alternatives designed with privacy in mind. ChatOdyssey Phone Relay offers a free trial followed by a $4.99/month plan that includes unlimited email relay, custom domain‑free business aliases, and a masked phone number—all without ads. Burner provides disposable numbers for short‑term projects, while Google Voice suits those already invested in Google’s ecosystem (with the usual Big‑Tech caveats).
Ultimately, your second line should protect you—not profit from your data. Until TextNow overhauls its ad‑centric business model and tightens its privacy practices, it remains a poor choice for anyone serious about safeguarding personal information.