I was invited at a different phone number

When the invitation doesn't quite match

Sometimes someone invites you by text at a phone number you don't normally sign in with, maybe an old number or a second phone. What happens next depends on whether the invitation is to a circle or to a sharing album.

A circle invitation

A circle invitation works only for the email address or phone number it was sent to. If you open it while signed in with an account that doesn't have that number, you'll see This invite was sent to someone else. Nothing has been used up: the invite still works.

1. If you have another account with that number, choose Sign in with a different account and sign in with the number the invite was sent to. You'll go straight in.
2. If the number is yours but isn't on your account yet, add it in My Account under Email and phone → Extra phone numbers and verify it, then open the invitation again. See Add extra phone numbers for invitations.
3. Or ask the person who invited you to send a new invite to the number you use here.

A sharing album invitation

For a sharing album, we do our best to sort it out automatically the moment you open the invitation while signed in. Most of the time, one of these happens without you needing to do anything extra:

1. You already have that number on your account. If the number the invitation was texted to is already verified on your ShareLocket account, we match it up right away and add you to the album — nothing more to do.
2. We ask you to confirm it's really you. If the invited number isn't on your account yet but isn't attached to anyone else either, we'll text a 6-digit code to it. Enter the code, and we'll add that number to your account and finish accepting the invitation in one step.

If the number belongs to another account

Occasionally, the invited number turns out to already belong to a different ShareLocket account of yours — say, one you created a while back and forgot about. If that other account is empty (no sharing albums of its own), we'll offer to move the number across to the account you're using now: enter the 6-digit code we text, and the number joins this account so the invitation can be accepted. Only the number moves — the other account stays as it is, and nothing else comes across with it.

If that other account already has sharing albums or content, we can't merge it automatically, because that would risk mixing up two people's things. In that case, you'll see a message letting you know, with the choice to sign in with that other account instead, or ask the person who invited you to send a fresh invitation to the number you use here.

A few things to know

• A phone number you add this way is only ever used to match invitations sent to it — it's never used to sign you in and is never a way to recover your account. Your primary phone number keeps doing both of those jobs.
• You can manage the phone numbers on your account anytime from My Account, under Email and phone → Extra phone numbers.
• Your account can hold up to 3 phone numbers. If you're already at that limit, we'll let you know and point you to your settings so you can remove one before trying again.
• None of this affects your password, your other numbers, or anything else on your account — we only ever add the one number the invitation was sent to.

Still stuck? Reach out using the Still stuck? Get in touch link at the bottom of the Help panel and we'll help you get in.