Are you tired of those cold callers and scammers and desperately need a way to make them stop calling you? Or perhaps you just want to prank a friend and have some laughs? For some, altering their voice over the phone is a way of protecting their identity and staying safe. Others might want to convey information but not get caught.
Whatever the reason, there are lots of tricks you can use to disguise your voice over the phone. Some require you to buy apps and devices, while others are completely simple and free of charge.
So, let’s go over 14 tips on how to mask your voice when talking on the phone.
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1. Use Apps That Change Your Voice
You can install various apps on your smartphone that modify your voice in real-time. These apps use digital filters while you are on a call or recording your message. That way, they help you sound silly, serious, or scary and even include accents and background noise. Furthermore, they can make you sound more male, female, or childlike, depending on what you need.
Such apps are available for both iOS and Android. A few examples of these apps include Call Voice Changer, MagicCall, and PrankDial. However, keep in mind that they need wifi to work. Also, while some of them are free to use, such as the Snapchat voice changer option, others will charge you per call.
2. Change Your Accent
You can always try including a different accent in the way you talk. But if you don’t already know one, choose an accent you can learn quickly. For instance, you can practice a southern drawl or harder-edged New York accent. There are also British or Australian accents and plenty of tutorials on Youtube to help you master them.
Furthermore, it’s always good to practice them first to gain confidence and sound more natural. Also, try using familiar terms so the words roll smoothly off your tongue.
3. Answer the Call in a Different Language
Are you bilingual or have at least some basic skill in another language? Use this knowledge to discourage people you don’t want to talk to. So, simply answer the phone in a different language, pretending you don’t speak a word of English! That will most likely surprise your caller, and they will end the call very quickly.
4. Purchase a Voice Modifier
Gamers and internet trolls often use voice modifiers to hide how they sound because those programs and devices make your voice seem higher or deeper. So, you can use such software while gaming or during audio and Skype calls. Some of them are available to download for free, while you need to spend some cash for others.
There are also devices you can buy that do the same thing. For them to work, you have to connect them to your smartphone or the headset of your home phone.
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5. Alter Your Pitch
Another way to disguise your voice is to alter your pitch. This method is completely free, and you do it all the time — when singing — anyway. So, to throw somebody off, you simply need to make your voice intentionally higher or deeper.
Generally speaking, it is easier to make a high-pitched voice. All you need to do is hold your head up and talk with the upper part of your throat.
On the other hand, to make your voice low-pitched, just lower your chin to your chest and speak with the lower part of your throat.
But if you are still not sure how to do that, maybe try singing your favorite song for a few minutes before talking to someone. That way, it will be easier to imitate the same pitch. You can even practice it a few times so you can be prepared for when the opportunity arises.
6. Have Fun Speaking in Gibberish
You don’t have to speak two languages to scare away rude callers. You only need to talk random nonsense. It may sound a bit rude, but speaking in gibberish will, without a doubt, deter unwanted callers. Just be careful not to start laughing in the middle of your “speech” because they will see right through you.
7. Try Sounding Like You Have a Cold
Do you know how your voice sounds different when you are ill and have a stuffy nose? You can try imitating that if you don’t want someone to recognize your voice on the phone. This”ill voice” is fairly easy to replicate with practice. Besides, you can always pinch your nose to get the same nasally effect.
8. There’s Always Helium
You probably have quite a few memories of you and your friends as kids having fun with helium balloons. Therefore, you know how inhaling helium can have you talking at a higher pitch.
While it is incredibly funny, this trick can also come in handy when you need to disguise your voice. But try to remember that helium changes your voice only for five to ten seconds at a time. So, to efficiently trick someone on the other end of the line, you need to prepare a stash and inhale it every few seconds.
However, you should keep in mind that inhaling helium can give you a headache, make you dizzy, and even cause you to faint. In fact, one study mentioned that a 10-year-old from New Jersey had collapsed after inhaling it. So, if you opt for this method, make sure you limit the amount of helium you inhale. That way, you will avoid the risk of becoming ill.
9. Use a Towel to Muffle Your Voice
One of the oldest tricks in the book is covering your mouth or your phone with a towel to muffle your voice. Any kind of material will make a difference to the way you sound because it will block the sound waves. However, this method won’t change your voice too much, so combining it with other methods might be best.
10. Background Noise Can Work to Your Advantage
Have you ever been on a call and couldn’t talk to the other person because of the background noise? Then you probably know how frustrating that is. You need to repeat yourself over and over again, but the person on the other end still doesn’t hear you.
So, if you want to mask your voice or make the other person drop the call, use loud, annoying background noise. Turn up the volume on the TV or radio, go near a traffic jam, or walk into a coffee shop. After having to repeat themselves a couple of times, the annoying caller will soon drop the call.
11. Try Whispering
Another easy and cheap trick is to whisper. For you to sound like your usual self, your vocal folds need to vibrate. But science says that your larynx vocal folds become stretched out to the maximum and do not vibrate when you are whispering. So, whispering changes the frequencies to make you sound quite differently.
12. Mimic Someone Else
Choose a friend or relative with a distinctive voice or accent and mimic the way they talk. It would be best to pick someone you spend a lot of time with because it will be easier to copy them.
13. Use Text-to-Speech Software
Mac and other Apple devices have a text-to-speech option that can automatically read your text. All you need to do is type in what you want to say, turn up the volume on your computer, and then dial. When a person answers, you should right-click on the text, choose option “Speech”, and then “Start Speaking”. That way, your computer will speak for you.
However, if you opt for this method, make sure you hold your phone near the computer’s speakers. Also, be prepared to type in your replies quickly.
For those who own a PC, there are similar text-to-speech websites. Or you can always borrow someone else’s phone and repeat the same process.
14. Adjust the Position of Your Head and Mouth
Try making your voice textured or gravelly by putting your chin on your chest. You can also clamp your teeth together, purse your lips very tightly or keep your mouth wide open while you talk. That will change the way you enunciate words and mask your real voice.
Final Thoughts
There are a number of ways you can mask your voice over the phone. Some of them can even be fun to try, like speaking gibberish or inhaling helium. But if you don’t feel like experimenting, learning a new accent, or talking in high pitch, you can always download an app that will make things easier for you. Also, if you are willing to throw in a few bucks, you can get a device or software with some really cool masking options.
In the end, all it takes is a bit of creativity and persistence. So, with the right trick, you will soon manage to pull off that prank or free yourself from annoying callers.
