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When you no longer need a phone number, you give it up from the Numbers page. Giving up isn’t instant deletion: the number stops answering straight away, but it’s then held for you — typically for 90 days — before it goes back to the provider for good. Change your mind any time in that window and the number is yours again. Like adding a number, giving one up is for workspace admins only.

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Give up a number

1

Find the number

On the Numbers page, find the number’s row and choose the ✕ (Give up number) at the end of it.
2

Read the confirmation

The confirmation spells out exactly what happens: the number stops answering straight away and is detached from any agents, it’s then held for you — the confirmation tells you the exact window — and you can take it back at any point in that time. Once it’s been released, it can’t be recovered.
3

Confirm

Choose Give up number. The row stays in your list with a Held status.

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While a number is held

A held number stays visible on the Numbers page with a Held chip — hover over it to see the exact date it’s held until. While it’s held:
  • It doesn’t answer calls and can’t be assigned to an agent.
  • It costs you nothing and doesn’t count against your plan’s included numbers.
  • You can take it back at any moment with the Keep it button on its row.
Choosing Keep it makes the number yours again immediately, with no confirmation needed — it’s the safe direction. It comes back unassigned, so assign it to an agent from the agent’s Phone numbers tab when you’re ready.
When the hold window ends, the number’s status changes to Releasing and it’s handed back to the provider. That’s the point of no return — a released number can’t be recovered, by you or by us.

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If your plan ends

You don’t lose your numbers by cancelling. When a plan ends, your numbers are held for you in exactly the same way — same Held status, same window, same promise. Pick a plan again within the window and they come back:
  • If your new plan’s included numbers cover everything that was held, they come back automatically — with the agents that answered them still routed to them.
  • If it covers fewer, the Numbers page asks Which of your numbers do you want back? — tick the ones that matter to you. The panel shows which come back at no extra cost and what each one past your allowance adds per month, and anything you leave unticked shows the date it goes back for good.
See Plans and credits for how included numbers work on each plan.