In short. Sending a text message without showing your number is not, in itself, an offence: the French Criminal Code articles quoted below punish what is written and why (threats, harassment, identity theft), not the fact of hiding one's number. But being anonymous to the recipient does not mean impunity: on a judicial request, the technical logs of a message can be handed to the authorities.
Text checked on 9 October 2026 on Légifrance and Service-Public.fr. This article gives general information; it does not replace a lawyer's advice.
What the law does not punish
Replying to a classified ad without giving your number, warning a relative tactfully, organising a surprise, contacting a professional without handing over your personal line: none of the articles below makes the mere fact of not showing your number an offence. The offences target the content of the message, its repetition and the intent to harm. Some situations where an anonymous SMS is legitimate are described on the site.
What the law punishes, anonymous or not
The penalties below are those set by the versions of the articles in force on the date they were checked.
| Text | What it punishes | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Article 222-16 of the Criminal Code | Repeated malicious phone calls and repeated malicious messages sent by electronic communications, in order to disturb someone's peace | 1 year in prison and a €15,000 fine; 3 years and €45,000 if the author is the victim's spouse, partner or civil-union partner (PACS) |
| Article 226-4-1 of the Criminal Code | Impersonating a third party, or using data that identifies them, in order to disturb their peace or someone else's, or to harm their honour or reputation (including on an online public communication network) | 1 year in prison and a €15,000 fine; 2 years and €30,000 if the author is the spouse, partner or civil-union partner |
| Article 222-17 of the Criminal Code | Threatening to commit a crime or an offence against a person, when the threat is repeated or put in writing (a text message is writing) | 6 months in prison and a €7,500 fine; 3 years and €45,000 for a death threat |
| Article 222-33-2-2 of the Criminal Code | Harassment through repeated remarks or behaviour whose purpose or effect is a deterioration of living conditions resulting in harm to physical or mental health | 1 year and €15,000 in the basic case; 2 years and €30,000 in particular when the acts are committed through a digital or electronic medium |
Article 222-16 is the one that targets text messages most directly: what matters is the repetition of malicious messages meant to disturb someone's peace. A single, polite and useful message does not fall within it.
The specific case of commercial text messages
If the sender is a business, article L. 34-5 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code bans direct marketing using the contact details of an individual who has not given prior consent, and bans hiding the identity of the person on whose behalf the message is sent. This service is for occasional personal use only: marketing and bulk sending are prohibited by the responsible use charter.
On the date it was checked, the Légifrance page of this article states that the Constitutional Council, in its decision no. 2026-1210 QPC of 25 June 2026, declared certain paragraphs unconstitutional (the CNIL's powers and the administrative penalty regime), with the repeal postponed to 31 October 2027. The general ban set out in the first paragraph is not among the paragraphs covered by that notice.
What this service keeps
The anonymity offered applies to the recipient: they only see the number of a shared gateway, never yours. Messages are, however, logged (IP address, timestamp) and can be handed to the competent authorities on a judicial request. In case of abuse, the publisher can block the number and IP address concerned. See the responsible use charter and the question "Is anonymity total and unlimited?".
You receive an anonymous text that threatens or harasses you
- Immediate danger: call 17 (police or gendarmerie) or 112.
- Keep the evidence: do not delete the messages; take screenshots showing the number, date and time.
- File a complaint at a police station or gendarmerie: investigators are the ones who can obtain, through a judicial request, the data that identifies the sender.
- Spam or a scam attempt: forward the text to 33700, the official reporting service. Reporting is free and passed on to the operators; it does not block the number immediately (source: Service-Public.fr).
- Stop being contacted: the stop being contacted page explains how to ask for your number to be blocked on this service.
Sources
- French Criminal Code, articles 222-16, 222-17, 222-33-2-2 and 226-4-1: Légifrance, versions in force consulted on 9 October 2026.
- French Postal and Electronic Communications Code, article L. 34-5: Légifrance, consulted on 9 October 2026.
- Abusive telephone canvassing, voice or SMS spam: what to do? (in French): Service-Public.fr, checked on 12 August 2026 by the DILA.
