Can You Use a Google Voice Number to Sign Up for OkCupid?

Maybe, but don't count on it. OkCupid confirms your number by sending a code by SMS, and it says it can't verify a landline, certain internet-based phone services or certain texting apps. Google Voice is an internet-based phone service. OkCupid's rule doesn't say Google Voice is allowed, and it says there are no workarounds if the code doesn't arrive. The reliable choice is an ordinary mobile number from a carrier.

OkCupid asks every member to confirm a phone number. Its reason is that confirming the number helps keep your account safe and makes it easier to log in.

The confirmation is a code sent by text. So the number has to belong to a device that can receive SMS messages. If you can't receive an SMS, you can't create an account, and you can't send messages or intros from an existing one.

The word to notice is "certain." OkCupid says it can't verify certain internet-based phone services and certain texting apps. It doesn't publish a list of which ones pass. That means a Google Voice number may work or may not, and the only way to find out is to try, with no help from OkCupid if it fails.

Wikipedia describes Google Voice as a Voice over IP service that combines internet-based calling with the regular phone network. That is the kind of service OkCupid warns about. It doesn't prove the code will be blocked, only that you're in the category OkCupid says it may not be able to verify.

Google's own help page also explains how Google Voice numbers work. You choose a number by entering a city name or zip code, and you can port a mobile number into Google Voice for $20. Google's page says nothing about receiving verification codes from other services, so Google doesn't promise it will work either.

Try it once, and set your expectations first:

1. Enter the number with the right country code.
2. Wait a few minutes for the code.
3. If it doesn't arrive, check the number and country code. OkCupid offers no workaround beyond that.

OkCupid suggests a short list when the code never arrives:

• Check that the number and the country code are correct.
• If it's a mobile number, ask your carrier to disable Message Blocking.
• Wait a few minutes and try again.

A wrong country code is the most common slip. A US number entered with another country's code goes nowhere, and the app doesn't always say so.

If the code still doesn't come, the answer is to use another number, one that works. That's an ordinary mobile number from a carrier. This article won't suggest a way around the rule, and nothing on OkCupid's side will bend for you.

A phone number can be verified on only one OkCupid account at a time. If yours is already attached to another account, you have to log into that account with the number and delete it first. Only then can you verify it on the account you want to keep.

This catches a lot of men. They signed up years ago, forgot the account existed and can't understand why the number is rejected. If that's you, the old account is almost certainly yours. Log in to the old account, check anything you want from it, delete it, and verify your number on the one you plan to use.

It's easy to see the phone requirement as a nuisance. For a man who wants dates, it works in your favor.

Every woman you meet on OkCupid has gone through the same step, and a number can be attached to only one account. That makes it more expensive for one person to run a stack of fake profiles. It doesn't remove fakes, and OkCupid gives no figure for how many remain, but it raises the bar.

It also helps you find your way to a real conversation. A man who is serious about meeting a woman wants her number soon. On an app where everyone has already confirmed one, asking for it feels natural.

Once a conversation is going well, move it off the app within a handful of messages. Do not wait for weeks.

A good way is to say something short and specific: "I would rather hear how you tell that story than read it. Want to swap numbers and do a ten-minute call tonight?" A real woman usually says yes or gives you an honest reason. A fake drifts or finds a reason not to.

Whatever she says, keep your own number to yourself until you have had a few exchanges that feel normal. Give it when you're happy to have her call you.

Then OkCupid isn't available to you, and that's fine. Plenty of men meet women without it. Use another dating app that suits your situation, or meet women in person, where nobody needs to verify anything.

If you do have an SMS-capable number, put your effort into the page. Clear photos, a few specific lines and honest answers to the match questions do more for your results than any trick with the sign-up. Then write first messages that mention one real thing from her page, because that is the part of the process you control completely.