How to Own a Cellphone Without Your Parents Knowing

Last Updated: March 22, 2023 Approved

Your parents don't want you to own a cellphone, but you want to own one anyway. It's possible to buy and keep a cellphone without your parents knowing; but you'll need to be diligent and well-prepared.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Affording the Phone

1
Use your own money. You will need to buy the phone using your own private funds, and your purchase should be untraceable by your parental overseers. If you have a privately-owned bank/savings account that isn't looked at too closely – use it! However, if your parents monitor your spending, then you may need to be more subtle. Remove small amounts from the bank, and do so only sporadically. Or, as an alternative and even more anonymous route, exchange cash for gift cards and use those gift cards on sites like Amazon if you are getting it online.
- If you don't have enough money, consider asking someone to help you out. Try asking grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and older siblings – trustworthy adults who won't tell your parents. If possible, don't tell them that it's for a phone.
2
Get money. If you don't have a source of steady income, you'll need to find a way to get cash. If you have a job, try saving a little bit each month until you have enough to afford a phone and a phone plan. If you don't have a job, try getting a part-time job at a local shop; consider working odd jobs around your neighborhood.
- Store your cash in a secret place: under a mattress or in a piggy-bank. Your parents might not care about you saving up – but it will be easier to keep the phone a secret if you don't need to answer questions about what you're saving for.
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3
Look into other options. If you need a cell phone to prevent a domestic violence situation within the home, Social Services may be able to help you either source a phone or provide parental counseling. If, however, all you want is to be able to text or call your friends without supervision, there may be other options – including online chat services such as Skype or Google's "Hangouts."
- If you want the mobility of a phone, an iPod touch or a similar Internet-connecting device could be used in areas where WiFi is available. Buy an iPod touch on either eBay or the Apple Store.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Buying the Phone

1
Visit a cellphone store. You can buy phones at some dollar stores, drugstores, and convenience stores – or you can go to a service provider like Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile. Make sure you have enough money to purchase the phone you want.
- Consider buying your phone online. If you buy it online, do not order it to your house; order it to a friends house. Your parents may get to it before you.
2
Choose a phone. Most simple phones run from $20-100. The phone you choose will depend on the features you want. A fancy new smartphone will be very expensive, but you can usually buy a simple "brick phone" for $20-30, or you can get an old phone of a friend’s for usually around $50, which would be the optimal situation, as it is untraceable and runs no risk of being intercepted or figured out by another parent.
- Consider whether you really need a phone with Internet and app capability. If you just need to text and call your friends, then the simplest phone will do.
3
Pick a plan. Look at simple pay-as-you-go phones, and check out the different plans. Be smart about which plan you get. Is it really worth the cost and risk involved to get data and 4G for your phone, or can you hijack the existing WiFi in your house? Consider whether a plan is even the best choice for you, or whether you can just top it up with online or over-the-phone top-ups. Think about how often you plan to use the phone; give yourself a buffer of 10% until you find the right pattern for how you use the phone.
- Seriously consider a pay-as-you-go minute card. These plans are designed for people who want the convenience of a phone without the cost and commitment of a long-term plan.
- Don't add your phone to your home WiFi if your parents are tech-savvy. They might notice that a device called "your-name's cell" is logged into it.
4
Look into online billing. Generally, a home address is needed to send phone bills and general information about the phone account. Check with the provider which you are interested in working with to see if they offer automatic bill pay options, and whether or not they can send bills bills and information online rather than through the mail. No matter what, though, it is unlikely that a cell phone provider will allow a minor to sign the plan contract.
- If you plan on getting a clandestine cell phone and you are over 18, It is possible to get a PO Box rather than providing your home address. Again, this will cost money.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Keeping It Secret

1
Be careful who you tell about the phone. Only give your number to friends who are trustworthy and unwilling (or unable) to blab. Make sure that no tattle-tale siblings or cousins know what's up. Maintain plausible deniability: never tell anyone where you keep the phone, so that you can deny it if your parents confront you.
2
Act normal. Don't give your parents any reason to be suspicious. If you need to call someone, excuse yourself for a walk, or go to a friend's place if possible. Make up a plausible excuse, and stick with it. This way, if anyone asks, you were at your friend's place playing video games, or hanging out at the park – not making a call. Get a friend to corroborate your stories, to provide better protection. If you play it right, no one should look too closely.
- Keep up normal habits. Don't disappear into your room and text/call friends for hours on end when you are at home, or someone will suspect that something is up.
3
Leave it on silent. If your phone rings or vibrates loudly around your parents, you won't able to hide it anymore. Keep it on vibrate, or off, and ensure you take care of it both at school and at home. Make sure that it isn't going to interrupt anything and blow your cover.
- Keep in mind that there is no possible situation where you would truly need the cell to ring loudly. Don't tell yourself you will just turn it off again afterwards. At some point, you will very probably forget about that – and then you're in trouble.
4
Hide your phone in a safe place. Keep it hidden somewhere that your parents won't look: in a purse or a backpack, or packed into your underwear drawer. Don't leave it laying around your room or your house, or else your parents will be more likely to notice it.
- Never charge it overnight or when your parents are at home and you aren't – at least not in easily visible places.
5
Be sneaky! if you get a call while your phone is off/on vibrate, don't answer it straight away. Wait until you're in a safe place, and be sure that you aren't being watched. When you're sure that you're safe, take out your phone and reply. Keep all conversations quick, and be careful that you aren't spotted. Keep the phone with you at all times, or leave it in a safe place.
- Treat the phone like something transient. If anyone sees it, it disappears. Don't have it out texting all the time.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I hide it if my parents go through my backpack and drawers all the time, and don't really respect the privacy I like.

Community Answer

Find places you know they won't go looking through or places they don't even know about. Maybe keep it in the pocket of whatever pants you're wearing.
Question

How do I secretly charge a cell phone?

Community Answer

Charge it when you're going to be in your room so your parents can't go snooping in there and find it. If you have an outlet that's behind your bed or somewhere else relatively well-hidden, use that. If not, just throw some pillows or stuffed animals or something over the phone/cord while it's charging.
Question

How can I afford a cell phone if I am only a child?

Community Answer

Do chores at home and save your allowance money, have a bake sale, start babysitting, and see if your neighbors need help with odd jobs like yard work, dog walking, etc. Don't do anything without your parents' permission, though.

Warnings

Your parents may find out, so you will have to think of a good lie beforehand.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 35 Not Helpful 7
You could get into trouble if they find out. But that does not mean that you have to go along with it. If you get grounded, you do not have to comply, even though they are your parents. If they do not let you get a phone, that is their problem, and not yours, and they should have expected this to happen when the set the rule of not having a phone, and punishing you about it is not fair to you, especially because it is their fault. Some may say that they punish you because they love you, but don't believe it; if they really loved you, they would just let you get a phone, and they would not punish you. They are punishing you to be arrogant and show that they have power over you, but do not let them. And feel free to get revenge on them. An eye for an eye.

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Helpful 42 Not Helpful 18