Imagine the hassle of having to provide your email address every time you want to sign up for a website or participate in an online discussion. Many people find this frustrating and hesitate to share their email addresses publicly. While some websites now offer disposable email addresses for temporary use, these addresses lack strong password protection, making them vulnerable to security breaches. As an alternative, phone verification has emerged as a way to access certain web services.

Phone verification involves providing a phone number to receive a randomly generated code via SMS. This code is then entered on the website to confirm that the user is genuine and not a spam bot.

To protect your privacy, there are online services that allow you to receive SMS messages on your computer without revealing your real phone number.

Here are the top 10 free websites where you can receive SMS online without using your actual phone number:

• Cloud SMS: Cloud SMS is a website to receive text messages online for free, and now provides: US toll-free numbers, UK toll-free numbers, Thailand toll-free numbers, and Philippines toll-free numbers. At the same time, a paid phone number rental service is also provided. You can register your own app account through the paid phone number to prevent the account from being changed by others. It is very convenient to use. The website of Cloud SMS is: https://www.storytrain.info/

• FreeOnlinePhone.org: This resourceful site allows you to receive text messages online for free. It offers coverage in over 228 countries worldwide and provides 24/7 customer support. You can select any number available on the site to receive your SMS messages. One minor drawback is that occasionally some of the phone numbers may not work, but they are promptly replaced by the website's support team. Visit the website here: http://www.freeonlinephone.org/

• SMS America: This website provides an excellent platform for receiving text messages online while keeping your real phone number private. You can select a number from a list of available numbers for the service, and it is completely free to use. Visit the website here: https://america.storytrain.info/home

• ReceiveSMSOnline.net: If you have visited FreeOnlinePhone.org, you may notice that this website looks similar, as they are both created by the same company, "Cicklow." ReceiveSMSOnline.net offers five phone numbers from the US and three from the UK for receiving text messages online. However, there may be a delay in receiving SMS messages from the chosen number, according to user reports. Visit the website here: https://receive-smss.com/

• ReceiveFreeSMS.com: This site provides ten public phone numbers from eight different countries for receiving SMS messages online. The available countries include the US, Sweden, Hungary, Lithuania, Australia, Spain, and Norway. With this website, you have a variety of phone numbers to choose from. The downside is that the site's reliability is not guaranteed. During our check, only three out of the ten numbers listed on their site received SMS messages. Visit the website here: http://receivefreesms.com/

• Sellaite SMS Receiver: This service, based in Estonia, allows you to receive SMS messages online. They are known for their reliability, as they promptly remove non-functioning phone numbers from their website. However, if the SMS gateway fails to send messages to Estonia at any given time, this service will not be available, leaving you with no other options. Visit the website here: http://sellaite.com/smsreceiver/

• Twilio: By providing your phone number to receive a verification code, Twilio offers a private phone number for free in their trial account. The advantage of Twilio is that you can use any of the phone numbers available on the site to receive a verification code and activate your account. However, the trial account is unable to send text messages to unverified phone numbers. Visit the website here: https://www.twilio.com/try-twilio

• TextNow: If you're looking for a reliable and free private phone number that only you can access for receiving SMS messages online, TextNow is worth trying. When you sign up for a free account, you will automatically receive a unique phone number, which is a significant advantage. However, some users have reported encountering a common problem where they receive a generic error message stating, "Something went wrong with your sign-up, please try again," when attempting to sign up. Visit the website here: https://www.textnow.com/get-started

• GRE.im: This website offers phone numbers from the US and Hungary. While occasional error messages may appear, you can disregard them and click on any of the publicly listed numbers to view the text messages. GRE.im is a reliable site; however, the US phone numbers may not always be dependable, and there are limited options for alternative phone numbers. The website is no longer valid.

• Receive-SMS.com: Last but not least, Receive-SMS.com is known for its reliable service. The site offers six phone numbers, with three each from Sweden and the UK, for receiving SMS messages online. One major advantage is that messages sent to the public phone numbers are instantly displayed on their website after refreshing the browser. Additionally, you can subscribe to private numbers to view your messages in a private inbox. Currently, there are no significant disadvantages reported, as all their phone lines are functioning perfectly. Visit the website here: http://receive-sms.com/