The latest articles on DEV Community by gransabi009-source (@gransabi009source). https://dev.to/gransabi009source https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3968628%2F4162058e-12ae-4c44-b784-df9b045cc2b1.png https://dev.to/gransabi009source en gransabi009-source Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:44:48 +0000 https://dev.to/gransabi009source/how-i-built-a-phone-validator-api-for-africa-where-twilio-fails-23o9 https://dev.to/gransabi009source/how-i-built-a-phone-validator-api-for-africa-where-twilio-fails-23o9 <p>Twilio and NumVerify are great. Until you try to validate an African phone number.</p> <p>I found this out the hard way. Carrier detection fails. Number formats are wrong. Line types are inaccurate.</p> <p>So I built my own.</p> <p><em>The Problem</em></p> <p>Most validation APIs were built for US and European numbers. When you try:</p> <ul> <li>Vodacom Mozambique (84, 85)</li> <li>Movitel Mozambique (86, 87) </li> <li>Unitel Angola (923, 925)</li> <li>Safaricom Kenya (71, 72, 79)</li> </ul> <p>They often return wrong carriers or mark valid numbers as invalid.</p> <p><em>The Solution</em></p> <p>Phone Validator API — built specifically for Africa and Lusophone countries.</p> <p>Features</p> <ul> <li>✅ 25 countries with full carrier detection</li> <li>✅ Mobile vs landline vs toll-free</li> <li>✅ Automatic country detection</li> <li>✅ E.164 normalization</li> <li>✅ Free tier available</li> </ul> <p><em>Supported Countries</em> (25)</p> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>Region</th> <th>Countries</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><strong>Lusophone</strong></td> <td>🇲🇿 🇦🇴 🇧🇷 🇵🇹 🇨🇻 🇬🇼 🇸🇹 🇹🇱</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Africa</strong></td> <td>🇿🇦 🇳🇬 🇰🇪 🇹🇿 🇬🇭 🇪🇹 🇿🇼 🇿🇲 🇺🇬 🇨🇮 🇸🇳 🇨🇲 🇷🇼 🇪🇬 🇲🇦 🇩🇿</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Europe</strong></td> <td>🇮🇹</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p>👉 <strong>Live Demo:</strong> <a href="https://gransabi009-source.github.io/phone-validator-api" rel="noopener noreferrer">Try it here</a></p> api backend showdev sideprojects