Frequently Asked Questions



General


What is ClearoutPhone?
ClearoutPhone is a powerful tool that offers the service of real-time phone number validation over 240+ countries
What is valid phone number?
A valid phone number is the one that is issued by any carrier in the world to its users, including satellite numbers. It does not necessarily mean that the number is currently reachable.
Which countries does your phone validation service cover?
ClearoutPhone Validator service covers 240+ countries worldwide.
Does your phone validation service work for mobile numbers and landline/fixed line numbers?
Yes, ClearoutPhone supports any type of number: mobile, landline/fixed line, VoIP, etc.
What is the accuracy of Phone number validation?
With a multi-level process that covers validation via International telecom authority, multiple carrier lines, and 3rd party validation, we ensure the highest level of accuracy achievable for each number.
With ClearoutPhone can I come to know if a number is regular or mobile number?
Yes, the users will get to know if a particular number is a mobile number or a regular one. In minimal cases, such segregation might not be available. We advise you to consider such numbers as fixed-line numbers.
Can I integrate other tools with ClearoutPhone?
Currently, you can integrate with API only, but very soon we are coming up with multiple integrations to make phone number validation process fun & easier for you.
Is the validation process carried out using OTP?
No, the validation process is not carried out using OTP, which means that the phone number owner will not receive any SMS or call for validation of the phone number. The process is carried out using multiple methods which include validation from International Telecom Authority, Multiple Carrier lines, and third party validation too.
Can I find the Identity of a person through phone number validation?
With Phone number validation, you can find the location and line type of the user. This feature will be further upgraded to track the identity of the user.
Do I need to download and install any software?
No. ClearoutPhone is a SaaS product. Just log in and go for it!
Is any technical skill required to use ClearoutPhone?
No, not usually but if you need real-time validation using our API, contact us, we can help with the technical setup. You can drop us an email at [email protected]
Does phone validation work for both personal and business numbers?
Yes, it will work for both and also any other phone-related service.
Why carrier shown as empty for certain numbers?
Some regions are not yet covered under the International Telecom Authority which makes us powerless to find a reliable way to determine their carrier type, hence its shown empty.
Why line type shown as empty for certain numbers?
At ClearoutPhone, we use international telecom union directory and other sources to resolve the numbers, since certain countries won't update at regular intervals about their number allocation, at times it requires to wait for a long period of time. In such cases, very likely the line type will be empty.
What are the possible line type that can be determined?
"The possible line type that can be determined -
FIXED LINE
MOBILE
FIXED LINE OR MOBILE
TOLL-FREE
PREMIUM RATE
SHARED COST
VOIP
PERSONAL NUMBER
PAGER
UAN
UNKNOWN
EMERGENCY
VOICEMAIL
SHORTCODE
STANDARD RATE"
Is there a way to find whether a number is active or reachable?
Currently, the only way to find out whether a number is active or reachable is by sending an SMS or by dialing that number. We will soon be adding a system for phone number verification in addition to the existing validation process.

Credits & Payment


Does ClearoutPhone offer a free trial?
Sure enough! ClearoutPhone wants its users to have an awesome phone validation experience before spending a single penny. Currently, ClearoutPhone offers 100 free credits that permit validation of 100 phone numbers.
How do the free credits work?
After a successful sign-up, the user gets 100 free credits. 1 credit charged per phone number validation.
Any expiry date for the credits bought?
The credits are eternal, they will not expire until used for validation purposes.
What are the payment options I get?
ClearoutPhone accepts all the major debit and credit cards. Our payment gateways meet all the updated security standards.
Do you offer support for adding multiple cards?
Yes, we do support adding multiple cards and but at one point in time only one card will be treated as a default card.

Plans & Pricing


What are the different pricing options available?
Keeping in mind the different requirements of the users, we provide the following prepaid plans:
  • One Time/Pay As You Go - Add credits to your account anytime by making a one-time payment. View the prices here
  • Monthly subscription - Pay a fixed amount once each month and we add credits to your account automatically. View the prices here
  • Annually subscription - Pay a fixed amount once a year and we add credits to your account automatically. View the prices here
What benefits can a user expect from subscription plans?
A customer can expect multiple benefits:
  • Discounts upto 40%
  • The credits are carried forward and never expire
  • Automated addition of credits in the user’s account
  • Facility to upgrade or downgrade your plan anytime.
How should the existing customers go ahead?
The existing customers will be treated as a part of the ‘One Time/Pay As You Go’ plan unless they subscribe to any other plan. They can go ahead with subscribing to the plan that suits them the best.
Will the credits reset every month?
In all the subscription plans the credits get carried forward and never expire.
What to do if the credits for a month have exhausted but additional credits are required?
More credits can be added anytime by upgrading the subscription plan or by making a one-time payment
Can the plans be upgraded or downgraded? If yes, how?
The current plan can be upgraded or downgraded anytime. It can be in either way
  • Upgrading/Downgrading within the current plan
  • Upgrading/Downgrading from monthly to an annual plan or from annual to monthly plan respectively.
You simply have to cancel the current plan and subscribe to the desired plan.
On switching a plan, only the balance amount needs to be paid?
In case of any kind of switching, from a lower to a higher plan or higher to a lower plan, the user needs to pay the subscription amount in full. The subscription plans do not carry the option for a refund.
What is the billing cycle?
Billing for different plans-
  • One Time/Pay As You Go - The bill will be generated at the time of purchase.
  • Monthly subscription - The bill will be generated every 30-days from the date of subscription.
  • Annually subscription - The bill will be generated every 365 days from the date of subscription.
Are there any customised subscription plans?
You may email us at [email protected] for custom subscription plans.

Quick Validation


What is Quick Validation?
As the name suggests, quick validation is a real time phone number validation. You can validate one number at a time. Just enter the number to be validated, click on 'validate' and get the result in the blink of an eye.
What results do I see in Quick validation?
The quick validation results will include the status, line type, carrier, location, country name and country time zone too.
What is JSON View and table view?
It's an additional feature to help our users view the result in the manner they find more convenient

Bulk Validation


Why default country is required during bulk validation?
A dial code is necessary for the bulk validation process. So, if the phone number doesn't have a dial code, then the country code will be picked from one of the column header value "country code" or "country_code". If neither the dial code prefix nor the country code column exist, then the default country code selected as part of the bulk validation start will be considered for the phone number validation.
What happens if a number is not prefixed with country dial code?
If the phone number value does not come with the dial code prefix, then the country code will be picked from one of
the column header value "country code" or "country_code". If neither the dial code prefix nor the country code column exist, then the default country code will be considered for the phone number validation
Does it require phone number to start with "+"
No, a '+' sign is not a required/mandatory format for the list.
How long will it take to validate 1 million numbers?
An approximate time of 2 hours may be required for validating 1 miilion phone numbers. This is an estimation which can be slightly up or down too.
What is the maximum bulk validation queue limit?
Our phone validation tool allows a maximum of 3 requests per user at a time in queue, whether it is in the queued state or running.
Is there support for the extraction of phone numbers?
Yes, provided that text is supplied in the phone number field during bulk file upload using an app or an API. The extraction in this case will be based on the comma separated values, and each value will be checked for phone numbers before the validation is called for each phone number.

Bulk Validation Result Analysis


What does the validated result show?
The validated results classify the data into Valid, Invalid, unknown and duplicate phone numbers.
Valid - Specified phone number is syntax free and reachable
numbers.
Invalid - Specified phone number is invalid and any contact should be avoided.
numbers.
Unknown - This status occurs due to technical glitches, the status of the phone number cannot be detected. No credits are charged for the phone numbers with "unknown" status.
Duplicate - A number existing more than once in a list will be termed as duplicate. No credits are charged for the duplicate phone numbers. numbers.
For ex: if one phone number exists thrice in the same list, only a single credit will be charged.
In what ways can I download the validated result?
The result can be downloaded in 4 formats -
Valid phone numbers - The resulting file will include only the valid phone numbers appended to your list.
Invalid Phone numbers - The resulting file will include only the Invalid phone numbers appended to your list. These numbers won't be reachable and can be safely removed from the list.
Phone numbers with ClearoutPhone standard columns - The resulting file will include all validated status phone numbers – Valid, Invalid, Unknown appended to other ClearoutPhone columns. This result can be downloaded immediately.
Custom - The resulting file will include your original list along with the ClearoutPhone standard columns you choose amongst - Valid, Invalid and Unknown.
What are the recent changes made in the bulk validation result?
Recent changes made-
Dec 2019 - A beneficial column recently added 'Can Be Internationally Dialled'. This informs the user whether a number under validation can be dialed internationally or not. The column consists of the answer in the form of Yes/No.

API Access and features


How do I get an API Access Key?
Once you create an account, you need to enter your profile to get the API Access key. You can refer to the API Docs for further details.

Privacy


How secure is my data?
All data provided is processed via industry-standard 256-bit HTTPS encryption. We do not process or store phone numbers for any purpose other than validation. This makes the data completely secure.
Do you store data?
As we are GDPR compliant, we do not store data for more than 30days of validation.
Do the user need to be concerned about the privacy of the data while using ClearoutPhone?
ClearoutPhone is a SaaS tool operating according to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) standards.
ClearoutPhone does not process or store phone numbers for any purpose other than validation and the data is deleted after 30days from validation.
ClearoutPhone does not share our client data with any third party at any time.
Is your service GDPR Compliant?
Yes, our service is fully compliant with the GDPR.
Do you share the phone number lists or use them in any other way?
We assure you that no one other than you has access to your data lists and the data is deleted after 30days from validation as we are GDPR compliant.
Do you keep, sell or share data?
As we are GDPR compliant, the data is deleted after 30days and we assure you that we are not involved in any selling or sharing activity.
Is there any risk that the user IPs and domains get blacklisted by using ClearoutPhone's service?
All processing is done on ClearoutPhone's servers keeping the user IP addresses and domains unaffected by the service.

Support