Why I use a different number for every app I sign up for

my dentist's office called me last year to confirm an appointment. fine. then two weeks later i started getting calls from some teeth whitening subscription service i'd never heard of. same area code.

i don't think that's a coincidence

since then i've been pretty ruthless about it. real number for: my bank, my doctor, my landlord. that's basically it. everything else - the food delivery app, the gym's check-in system, that one-time marketplace purchase, the hotel loyalty program i'll use twice - gets a virtual number. code comes through, account created, done

the funny thing is nothing has broken. no service has ever actually needed to call me for something real. they ask for a number because the signup flow requires it, not because they have any intention of using it responsibly

got kind of paranoid about it for a while but now it's just habit. takes maybe 90 seconds extra per signup

anyone else draw a hard line like this or is it more situational for you