Everything you need to know about phone number rental types and how they work
We offer physical SIM rentals plus separate virtual (cloud) numbers:
⭐ Long-term Rental Physical SIM with a dedicated SMS gateway powered by Shadow. Your number shows as the sender. Best option for 2FA.
⏱️ Short-term Rental Physical SIM. Receive SMS and send via shared gateway. Sender may appear as "SMS". May work for some verification, not guaranteed.
☁️ Virtual Number Cloud/VoIP number for general SMS only. Does not support 2FA or app verification. No refund if codes never arrive.
The key difference is how outgoing SMS messages are handled:
Long-term Rental: Uses a dedicated SMS gateway powered by Shadow. When you send SMS, recipients see YOUR phone number as the sender. Best for business communication and 2FA.
Short-term Rental: Uses a shared gateway. Recipients may see "SMS" instead of your number. Physical SIM — better for codes than virtual, still not guaranteed.
Virtual Number: Third-party cloud number. Send and receive SMS. Not supported for 2FA, banks, or social-app verification. No refund for missing codes.
Choose based on your needs:
Choose Long-term if you need:
Choose Short-term if you:
Choose Virtual only if you:
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.
No. Virtual numbers are not supported for TOTP, 2FA, banks, or apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, or Google. Those services block VoIP ranges. Missing codes are expected, and there is no refund. Use a physical short-term or long-term number instead.
Cloud/VoIP numbers from a third-party provider. They are not physical SIMs. You can send and receive SMS through Crypton. Outgoing SMS is charged per message.
General SMS only. Not for creating accounts, login codes, or anything that depends on the destination accepting a VoIP number.
No. Checkout requires you to acknowledge that virtual numbers are not for 2FA. Unused-return and diagnostics refunds are for physical numbers, not virtual numbers.
A dedicated SMS gateway is a device powered by Shadow (shadow.is) 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 a dedicated SMS gateway device (powered by Shadow), 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.
Yes, once. When your long-term number is activated, we load the SIM with at least €5 of operator credit. We do not top up the SIM again on renewal or later — keeping adequate operator balance after activation is your responsibility.
No. Outgoing SMS from long-term numbers is free on Crypton — we do not charge your account credits per message. Messages still require sufficient SIM operator balance with the carrier; if that balance runs out, sending may fail until you top up the SIM yourself.
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.
No. They are two separate services with separate checkout, billing, and support. Crypton Travel eSIM is prepaid travel data with a fixed allowance and validity. Crypton Mobile is an ongoing mobile line (permanent eSIM profile) with recurring SIM maintenance, optional US/UK numbers, and data top-ups—managed apart from Dashboard → My eSIMs (Crypton Travel eSIM orders).
Crypton Mobile is a permanent eSIM with monthly maintenance and pay-as-you-go data. Voice, SMS, and a dedicated US or UK number are coming soon. It is not the same product as prepaid Crypton Travel eSIM (data-only travel plans).
Today: a long-lived eSIM kept active by maintenance fees, plus mobile data top-ups. Voice, SMS, and a US or UK number are coming soon. See the Crypton Mobile page for current pricing.
Crypton Travel eSIM is usually a single purchase (data + validity). Crypton Mobile has ongoing network/SIM fees, optional annual number charges, and separate data top-ups. Treat them as different subscriptions in your account.
Not yet. Crypton Mobile SMS and verification codes are coming soon. Crypton Travel eSIM is data-only and cannot receive SMS. If you need codes now, rent a physical short-term or long-term phone number.
Open the Crypton Mobile section from the public site or your dashboard. It is separate from My eSIMs / Crypton Travel (prepaid Crypton Travel eSIM).
Blue Relay is our hosted iMessage product. Crypton runs a dedicated iPhone for you in our EU/UK fleet, and you send and receive blue-bubble iMessage from a dedicated phone number through the Conversations UI and API. You do not need your own iPhone or Apple ID.
Our regular numbers send green-bubble SMS through Android gateways. Blue Relay is a separate product: a hosted iPhone line for teams that need blue bubbles. Crypton manages the device and Apple ID for you, so your personal Apple account is never involved.
Reply (EUR 89/mo) receives iMessage and lets you reply to anyone who messages you first. Full two-way (EUR 129/mo) adds proactive outbound so you can start conversations. Fleet (EUR 99/mo per line) is Full two-way for 10+ lines. Terms: monthly, 3 months (-5%), 6 months (-10%), and 12 months (-18%).
It is a flat monthly rate per line, paid from your account credit or by card via Stripe subscription. A one-time EUR 29 activation applies to monthly and 3-month plans and is waived on 6- and 12-month prepay. There is no per-message billing.
Your dedicated number receives both iMessage and regular SMS. Messages you send through Crypton go out as iMessage and are included in your plan, with no per-message credit charge - the same free-messaging approach as our long-term Gateway V2 lines.
Every line gets its own hosted iPhone. If a device is in stock it is provisioned quickly; otherwise your paid line joins a first-in, first-out setup queue. Typical setup is 3-5 business days, and your expected date is shown in your dashboard.
Yes. Each line gets its own dedicated phone number in the country you choose at checkout (currently select EU/UK regions). Recipients see your dedicated number - it is not a shared sender.
Yes. Send and receive photos and files over iMessage from Conversations and the API, including attachment-only messages. Incoming MMS attachments on your line appear in the thread as well. There is no separate attachment fee — messaging stays on your flat monthly plan.
Yes. Group threads show up in Conversations so you can follow and reply. On Reply you can answer in groups that message you first; on Full two-way and Fleet you can also start new iMessage group chats with multiple participants.
Crypton AI is Chat plus an OpenAI-compatible API on the same account. Inference runs in the EU. Chat and the API use the same EUR token prices, billed from your Crypton credits.
The inference provider discards them (default zero retention). Crypton does not log prompt bodies. If you use Chat without Incognito, we store encrypted history until you delete the thread.
No. We do not compete on US-router prices. Crypton wins on EU residency, audited ZDR, crypto/credits, and encrypted Chat history. OpenRouter and ChatGPT usually have stronger or cheaper models.
Yes, with an account: 20 messages/day and 25,000 tokens/day on qwen3.5-9b, 10 requests per minute. Larger models are paid-only. After the bucket, continue from your Crypton credits.
No. We do not use AI for customer support. Open a ticket or SimpleX Chat.
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:
Yes, webhook payloads include the rental_type field for phone number related events, so your application can handle different rental types accordingly.
For short-term and virtual numbers only
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 SMS gateway, 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.
Direct messaging blocked (9 countries): These countries don't allow text messages from online services to reach personal phones directly.
Reply SMS not available (58 countries): These countries don't support receiving reply messages through cloud services.
Direct Messaging Blocked (9):
🇺🇸 United States 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇵🇭 Philippines 🇹🇷 Turkey 🇯🇵 Japan 🇮🇹 Italy 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 🇵🇰 Pakistan 🇰🇪 Kenya
Reply SMS Not Available (58):
Middle East (10):
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 🇶🇦 Qatar 🇰🇼 Kuwait 🇧🇭 Bahrain 🇴🇲 Oman 🇯🇴 Jordan 🇱🇧 Lebanon 🇮🇶 Iraq 🇮🇷 Iran
Asia (12):
🇨🇳 China 🇮🇳 India 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇮🇩 Indonesia 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇻🇳 Vietnam 🇹🇭 Thailand 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 🇰🇭 Cambodia 🇲🇳 Mongolia
Europe (12):
🇬🇷 Greece 🇷🇴 Romania 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇧🇾 Belarus 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇬🇪 Georgia
Africa (12):
🇪🇬 Egypt 🇳🇬 Nigeria 🇬🇭 Ghana 🇺🇬 Uganda 🇹🇿 Tanzania 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 🇩🇿 Algeria 🇹🇳 Tunisia 🇱🇾 Libya 🇸🇳 Senegal 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇲 Cameroon
Americas (7):
🇵🇪 Peru 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇻🇪 Venezuela 🇺🇾 Uruguay 🇯🇲 Jamaica 🇨🇺 Cuba 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Central Asia & Caucasus (5):
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 🇦🇲 Armenia
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.
Physical short-term and long-term numbers can use unused return or diagnostics self-serve when eligible. Virtual numbers are not supported for 2FA; missing codes are not refunded. See Terms of Service for full details.
