What Is Considered Legal Use of Phone Number Data?
Posted: Tue May 27, 2025 9:24 am
Phone number data is personal information that must be handled carefully to respect privacy rights and comply with legal frameworks. Legal use of phone number data involves collecting, storing, processing, and sharing phone numbers in ways that follow laws, regulations, and ethical standards. Understanding what constitutes legal use helps businesses avoid penalties and maintain user trust.
1. Obtaining Consent
One of the most fundamental principles of legal phone number use is obtaining clear and informed consent from the individual whose phone number is being collected:
Users should be told how their phone number will be used before they provide it.
Consent must be freely given, specific, and unambiguous.
For example, when signing up for a service, the user might agree to receive SMS notifications or marketing messages.
Without consent, using or sharing phone numbers for marketing or tracking can be illegal under laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the US.
2. Purpose Limitation
Phone numbers must only be used for the purposes explicitly stated at the time of collection:
If a user provides their phone number to receive account alerts, it’s illegal or unethical to use it for unrelated marketing without additional consent.
Companies must avoid “function creep,” where data collected for one purpose is repurposed without consent.
3. Data Minimization
Legal use requires collecting only the phone number data necessary for the intended purpose:
Avoid collecting extra phone numbers or related data that are not essential.
Minimizing data reduces risks related to data recent mobile phone number data breaches and misuse.
4. Secure Storage and Handling
Protecting phone numbers from unauthorized access is a legal requirement:
Companies must implement technical and organizational measures such as encryption, access controls, and secure databases.
Failure to secure phone number data can lead to legal consequences under data protection laws.
Secure handling also means limiting who inside the company can access the data.
5. Compliance with Regulations
Legal use of phone number data means complying with relevant local, national, and international regulations:
GDPR (EU): Requires lawful basis for processing, including consent, and provides data subjects with rights such as access, correction, and deletion.
TCPA (USA): Regulates telemarketing calls and SMS, requiring prior express consent.
CCPA (California): Gives consumers rights over personal data, including phone numbers.
Other countries have similar laws that protect phone number data as personally identifiable information (PII).
6. Respecting Do-Not-Call and Opt-Out Requests
Legal use involves honoring do-not-call lists and opt-out requests:
If a user requests to stop receiving calls or texts, companies must promptly comply.
Ignoring such requests can lead to regulatory fines and legal action.
7. Transparency and Accountability
Legal use includes transparency about how phone numbers are used and accountability for data protection:
Privacy policies should clearly state how phone number data is collected, used, shared, and stored.
Companies should keep records of consent and processing activities.
Data protection officers or compliance teams often oversee legal adherence.
8. Limited Sharing and Third-Party Use
Sharing phone number data with third parties must be legal and disclosed:
1. Obtaining Consent
One of the most fundamental principles of legal phone number use is obtaining clear and informed consent from the individual whose phone number is being collected:
Users should be told how their phone number will be used before they provide it.
Consent must be freely given, specific, and unambiguous.
For example, when signing up for a service, the user might agree to receive SMS notifications or marketing messages.
Without consent, using or sharing phone numbers for marketing or tracking can be illegal under laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the US.
2. Purpose Limitation
Phone numbers must only be used for the purposes explicitly stated at the time of collection:
If a user provides their phone number to receive account alerts, it’s illegal or unethical to use it for unrelated marketing without additional consent.
Companies must avoid “function creep,” where data collected for one purpose is repurposed without consent.
3. Data Minimization
Legal use requires collecting only the phone number data necessary for the intended purpose:
Avoid collecting extra phone numbers or related data that are not essential.
Minimizing data reduces risks related to data recent mobile phone number data breaches and misuse.
4. Secure Storage and Handling
Protecting phone numbers from unauthorized access is a legal requirement:
Companies must implement technical and organizational measures such as encryption, access controls, and secure databases.
Failure to secure phone number data can lead to legal consequences under data protection laws.
Secure handling also means limiting who inside the company can access the data.
5. Compliance with Regulations
Legal use of phone number data means complying with relevant local, national, and international regulations:
GDPR (EU): Requires lawful basis for processing, including consent, and provides data subjects with rights such as access, correction, and deletion.
TCPA (USA): Regulates telemarketing calls and SMS, requiring prior express consent.
CCPA (California): Gives consumers rights over personal data, including phone numbers.
Other countries have similar laws that protect phone number data as personally identifiable information (PII).
6. Respecting Do-Not-Call and Opt-Out Requests
Legal use involves honoring do-not-call lists and opt-out requests:
If a user requests to stop receiving calls or texts, companies must promptly comply.
Ignoring such requests can lead to regulatory fines and legal action.
7. Transparency and Accountability
Legal use includes transparency about how phone numbers are used and accountability for data protection:
Privacy policies should clearly state how phone number data is collected, used, shared, and stored.
Companies should keep records of consent and processing activities.
Data protection officers or compliance teams often oversee legal adherence.
8. Limited Sharing and Third-Party Use
Sharing phone number data with third parties must be legal and disclosed: