Free Guide to Removing Phone Links

Understanding Phone Links and Why You Might Want to Remove Them

Phone links are clickable telephone numbers that appear on websites, emails, and documents. When you tap or click a phone link on a mobile device, it automatically opens your phone's calling app and dials the number. On computers, phone links typically appear as underlined numbers in a different color, usually blue. These links are created using special code called "tel:" links that browsers recognize as phone numbers.

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People want to remove phone links for various reasons. Some find them distracting on websites they design or manage. Others may want to prevent accidental calls when browsing on mobile devices. Business owners sometimes remove phone links to encourage customers to use contact forms instead, which can provide better documentation of inquiries. Website administrators might remove links to outdated phone numbers to avoid directing customers to disconnected lines or wrong departments.

Understanding how phone links work is the first step toward managing them effectively. These links serve a purpose—they make it convenient for mobile users to contact businesses quickly. However, if you're managing a website or document where these links are unnecessary or outdated, removing them becomes important. The good news is that removing phone links doesn't require advanced technical knowledge. The method depends on where the link appears and what platform you're using.

Practical takeaway: Identify where phone links appear in your content. Check your website, email signatures, documents, and any online materials you manage. Take note of which links are outdated, unnecessary, or causing problems. This inventory will help you prioritize what to remove first.

Removing Phone Links from Websites Using HTML

If you manage a website built with HTML code, you can directly edit the source code to remove phone links. Phone links in HTML are created using the format: <a href="tel:+15551234567">(555) 123-4567</a>. To remove the link while keeping the phone number visible, you need to replace this code with plain text. Simply change it to read: (555) 123-4567 without the surrounding link tags.

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To do this, access your website's HTML files through your hosting provider's file manager or through an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client. Open the HTML file in a text editor—common options include Notepad, Sublime Text, or Visual Studio Code. Search for "tel:" to find all phone links in your document. You'll see the <a href="tel:" format we described. For each one you want to remove, delete the opening <a href="tel:+phonenumber"> tag and the closing </a> tag, leaving only the phone number itself.

If you're not comfortable editing raw HTML code, many website builders offer visual editors. Popular platforms like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify allow you to edit pages without touching code. Simply click on the phone number link, and options to remove it should appear. In WordPress, select the number and click the "remove link" button in the formatting toolbar. In Wix and similar builders, right-click the number and choose "remove hyperlink" or similar wording.

Practical takeaway: Before editing any code, save a backup copy of your original file. This way, if something goes wrong, you can restore the original. Make changes to one phone link at a time and preview the page to confirm the number still appears but is no longer clickable.

Removing Phone Links from Microsoft Word and PDF Documents

Microsoft Word automatically converts phone numbers into clickable links when you type them in standard formats like (555) 123-4567 or 555-123-4567. To remove these automatic links, right-click on any blue phone number in your document. A menu will appear with the option "Remove Hyperlink." Click this option, and the number will remain but the link will be gone. The text will return to black and will no longer be underlined.

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If you want to prevent Word from creating phone links in the future, you can adjust your settings. Go to File, then Options, then Trust Center, then Trust Center Settings, then AutoFormat As You Type. Uncheck the box that says "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks." This stops Word from automatically turning phone numbers and URLs into clickable links as you type. You can also use the AutoCorrect Options under File > Options > Proofing to manage this setting.

For PDF documents, the process varies depending on whether the PDF was created from a scanned image or from a digital document. If the PDF was created digitally and contains actual text (not just an image), you can use PDF editing software to remove links. Adobe Acrobat Pro includes a "Remove Links" feature under the Tools menu. Open your PDF, click Tools, select Edit PDF, then look for link editing options. Right-click on a phone link and choose "Delete" or "Remove Link." If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Pro, many free online PDF editors offer link removal features, though you should be cautious about uploading sensitive documents to online tools.

Practical takeaway: For documents you share with others, removing phone links prevents accidental calls. Before distributing a final document, use the Find & Replace feature (Ctrl+H in Word) to search for "tel:" or similar patterns and remove any remaining links. This ensures consistency across your entire document.

Removing Phone Links from Email and Email Signatures

Email clients like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail often automatically link phone numbers. If you're composing an email and notice a blue, underlined phone number, the email system has created a link. The experience of removing these links varies by email provider. In Gmail, click on the phone number and a small toolbar should appear. Look for a link icon or chain icon and click the "remove link" button (often looks like a broken chain). The number will remain but will no longer be clickable.

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In Microsoft Outlook, right-click on the phone number and select "Remove Hyperlink" from the context menu. In Apple Mail, right-click the number and choose "Remove Link" if available. If you're using webmail (checking email through a web browser), these automatic link features are usually built in, but the exact steps differ by provider. The general approach is the same: right-click the number and look for a remove link option.

Email signatures often include business phone numbers, and these frequently appear as links. When editing your signature, you can remove the link the same way. However, different email providers handle signatures differently. In Gmail, go to Settings, then Scroll to Signature, then edit your signature text. If the phone number shows as a link (usually blue and underlined), click it and remove the link before saving. In Outlook, go to File, then Options, then Mail, then Signatures, then edit your signature and remove any links from phone numbers the same way you would in a regular email.

Practical takeaway: Check your email signature in different email clients before finalizing it. What appears as a link in one client might appear differently in another. Test sending an email to yourself and view it on mobile and desktop to ensure phone numbers appear the way you want them to.

Removing Phone Links from Social Media and Online Platforms

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter handle phone links differently. On most platforms, when you include a phone number in a post or profile, the platform automatically detects it and may create a link. However, on most social media sites, you cannot directly remove these links yourself—the platform controls whether numbers are linked or not. Your options are limited to how you format the phone number to discourage linking.

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To prevent social media platforms from linking your phone number, try formatting it differently. Instead of writing (555) 123-4567, write it out with spaces: 555 - 123 - 4567. Use words instead of symbols, like "five five five dash one two three four five six seven." Add a letter or symbol that breaks the pattern, such as writing it as "Call: 5.5.5.1.2.3.4.5.6.7" or "Tel. 555•123•4567." These non-standard formats are less likely to be recognized and linked by the platform's automatic system.

For platforms where you have more control, like your own website or blog hosted on services like Medium or Substack, you can edit content to remove links. On Medium, click on a phone number, and a toolbar should appear allowing you to remove the link. On Substack, editing works similarly. If you're posting to platforms where