Travel and living abroad
One phone, several countries: second numbers for digital nomads and remote workers
Clients in one country, an apartment in another, family in a third. Local numbers for each on one phone, switched at the top of the screen, with hours that follow you across time zones.
Working from anywhere sounds like freedom until a client cannot call you because your number is in the wrong country, or a landlord will not sign because you have no local mobile. The fix is not a drawer of SIM cards. It is a set of numbers that live in one app, each in the country where it is needed, all ringing on the phone in your hand.
A number where the work is
If your clients are in one country, hold a local number there. It is what they expect to see on your invoices and it is cheap for them to call. Calls arrive in the app wherever you happen to be working from, over the café Wi-Fi or a local data eSIM. Name the number after the client market or the business, set business hours in their time zone, and let voicemail take the calls that arrive while you are asleep on the other side of the world. See Set up a work line.
A number where you live this month
Landlords, gyms, delivery drivers and the local bureaucracy want a local number. Take a short-term number in the country you are staying in, for a month or three, and let it lapse when you move on. Extra numbers are paid with coins for 7 days, 30 days, 90 days or a year. See Add another number with coins.
A number where home is
Family and old friends keep calling the number they know in their own country, and it rings on your phone anywhere. Auto-renew it so it never lapses.
Keeping it all straight
Second Phone allows up to ten numbers on one account. Each has its own conversations, call history, voicemail and settings, and the number switcher at the top of the Keypad, Messages and Recents tabs chooses the one you are working with, so a message to a client always goes from the client-facing number. Notifications name the number a call or text arrived on. Expenses lists every call and text against the number it came from, which makes client billing and expenses straightforward. See Switch the number you are using.
Data and connectivity
The numbers carry calls and texts over the internet, so how you get online is a separate decision: a home SIM roaming, a local data eSIM, or Wi-Fi. Many nomads pair a data-only eSIM in each country with Second Phone numbers for calling and texting, and never touch a physical SIM.
The app speaks your languages too
Second Phone is available in 16 languages and follows your phone's language setting, so a bilingual nomad who switches their phone between languages sees the app follow. See Use the app in your language.
Frequently asked questions
Do the numbers keep working when I cross a border?
Yes. They are tied to your account, not to a location or a SIM. As long as your phone has data or Wi-Fi, every number on your account works wherever you are.
How do I know which number a call is coming in on?
The incoming call and the notification show which of your numbers was called, and Recents lists calls under the number they arrived on.
Can I call between my own numbers or to other Second Phone users for free?
Video calls between Second Phone users are free. Ordinary calls to phone numbers are charged per minute at the rate for the two countries, shown in the Pricing calculator.