imo Account Guide: Sign-Up, OTP & Recovery
By SMSOTPS Support Team
Your imo account is your phone number. Lose control of the number and you lose the account — no email login behind it, no password to reset.
Sign-up takes two minutes. Keeping the account takes one decision: use a number you will still control next year. Download imo from your device's app store, open it, tap "Create Account" or "Sign Up", select the country of your SIM card, enter your phone number, and enter the verification code sent to you. Then set up your profile with a picture and a nickname or username. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/How-to-register-an-imo-account]
That is the direct answer: install the app, enter a phone number you control, type in the SMS verification code imo sends to that number, then set a name and picture. No email step. No password step. The number is the login.
Sign up without tripping over the first code
Start with the boring check. The country you select sets the country code. A wrong country code sends the code to a number that is not yours, and no amount of resending fixes that.
Enter the number exactly as your carrier holds it, digits only. Then request the code once.
If the code does not arrive, check three things before you touch resend: the number on screen matches the number in your hand, the phone has signal, and the SMS inbox is not filtering the message into spam. A second request while the first code is still in flight replaces it — and now you are guessing which one is live.
imo official staff will never ask you for your verification code. Anyone who does is not imo, whatever name shows on the chat. [Source: https://forum.imo.im/faq/Tips-about-Account-Security-and-Privacy]
Why "just use any number" breaks later
A one-time virtual number receives one code once. That gets you in today. Then you get a new phone, or imo asks you to verify again, or you try to change the number. Each of those sends a code to the registered number — the one you no longer control.
So the honest trade-off is this: a one-time number is fine for a throwaway test account you are happy to lose. It is a poor fit for an imo account you intend to keep. For an account that matters, use a number you control permanently.
SMSOTPS sells private numbers for receiving a code without putting your personal number on a service (browse SMSOTPS services for coverage). That solves the privacy problem at sign-up. It does not solve the recovery problem later. The account lives and dies with access to that number. For the exact terms, limits, and refund rules that apply to an order, read the SMSOTPS FAQ and terms and check the live order page before you pay — those pages are the version that counts, not this article. See SMSOTPS pricing and SMSOTPS free numbers for current options.
Do this the day you sign up
Turn on two-step verification while you are still logged in. imo describes it as verifying login through trusted devices, sending an SMS to imo (Bangladesh only), or answering verification questions. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/How-to-use-imo-safely] Set it up now, because it is the route imo points to when the number stops working. Then remove unwanted devices at [Me] — Settings — Manage Devices; a removed device cannot get back in without a new verification code. [Source: https://forum.imo.im/faq/Tips-about-Account-Security-and-Privacy] Privacy settings live on your profile page, under Security & Privacy. [Source: https://forum.imo.im/faq/Tips-about-Account-Security-and-Privacy] Set them once.
New phone, lost number, locked out
imo logs in with a phone number or a QR code — not with an email address or a social media account. On iOS and Android you log in with your phone number; on desktop and the web you log in with your phone number or by scanning a QR code. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/More-Ways-to-Login]
New phone, same number: install imo, enter the same number, enter the code. That is the clean path, and it is the reason the number matters more than the device.
Old number dead? imo says it plainly: if you cannot receive verification codes because your phone number is inactive or canceled, you may be unable to log in, and your first step is to ask your mobile carrier whether the number can be restored. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/More-Ways-to-Login]
Work the lost-number order. First, ask your carrier for the same number back — imo lists this first. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/Phone-Number-is-Lost-or-Expired] Second, if you are still logged in somewhere, change the number in account settings while you still can. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/Phone-Number-is-Lost-or-Expired] Third, if the SIM cannot be reissued, imo points to recovering through two-step verification by answering security questions, then changing to a new number. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/Account-Auto-deleted-after-12-Months-Inactive] That only works if two-step verification was set up before the loss.
Last resort: ask imo to cancel the original account, with the account number, proof of ownership, and ID, and the statement "Please cancel my account". If you get the SIM back later, logging in creates a new account. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/Phone-Number-is-Lost-or-Expired] Cancellation is not recovery. It is starting over, deliberately.
If imo detects an unusual login attempt, deleting the account, changing the number, and managing devices may be blocked until you set a new trusted device and complete verification on the account phone number. [Source: https://forum.imo.im/faq/Unable-to-Delete-or-Change-Account-and-Manage-Device-Due-to-Security-Restrictions]
Leave an account alone for 12 months or longer and it may be suspended or deleted automatically. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/Account-Auto-deleted-after-12-Months-Inactive] Open it once in a while. Keep the number alive.
Deleting is different from uninstalling. Delete at profile page — Settings — Account & Security — Delete imo Account. Deletion clears the account information, and it cannot be restored after 14 days. [Source: https://forum.imo.im/faq/Tips-about-Account-Security-and-Privacy] Uninstalling does none of this. Delete first, uninstall second.
The recommendation
Sign up with a number you will still control in a year. Turn on two-step verification today, while you are logged in. Remove old devices, and open the account often enough that the 12-month rule never touches it. If privacy is the reason you want a second number, use a private number for the sign-up — and accept that the account is only as durable as your access to that number. For an imo account that holds your real contacts, a number you control permanently is the right call.
Common questions
How do I create an imo account?
Install imo, tap Create Account or Sign Up, select your country, enter your phone number, and enter the SMS verification code. Then add your name and picture. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/How-to-register-an-imo-account]
Why is my imo OTP not arriving?
Check the number and country code on screen first, then signal and SMS spam filtering. Request the code once — a fresh request replaces the earlier code. If the number is inactive or canceled, imo says you may be unable to log in until the carrier restores it. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/More-Ways-to-Login]
Can I log in to imo with email?
No. imo supports login only with a phone number or QR code, not with an email address or social media account. [Source: https://ru.imo.im/faq/More-Ways-to-Login]
I lost my phone number. How do I recover my imo account?
Ask your carrier for the same number first. If you are still logged in, change the number in account settings. If the SIM cannot be reissued, recovery runs through two-step verification — which only helps if it was set up beforehand. [Sources: https://ru.imo.im/faq/Phone-Number-is-Lost-or-Expired and https://ru.imo.im/faq/Account-Auto-deleted-after-12-Months-Inactive]
Can I use a virtual number for imo sign-up?
A private number can receive the sign-up code, and that keeps your personal number off the service. imo decides whether to accept any given number, and no provider can promise acceptance or delivery. For an account you intend to keep, a number you control permanently is the safer choice. SMSOTPS services
