How to Create a New Persona

Creating a new persona in Phound takes only a few minutes, and when you are done you will have a fully independent communication identity with its own phone number, voicemail, and notification settings. This guide walks you through every step of the process so you can get up and running quickly.

If you are not yet familiar with what a persona is or why you might want more than one, start with What Are Personas? for a quick overview.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have the following ready:

An active Phound account. If you have not signed up yet, see Creating Your Account.
An available persona slot. The number of personas you can create depends on your plan. Check your current limit under Settings > Subscription. If you need more, visit Plans and Pricing to upgrade.
A payment method on file (if your plan requires purchasing an additional phone number). You can manage payment methods in Billing Settings.

Tip: Have a clear purpose in mind before you create a persona. Knowing whether this persona is for work, a side project, online selling, or personal use helps you make better choices during setup — especially when it comes to naming and voicemail greetings.

Step 1: Open the Persona Creator

Launch the Phound app on your phone or open the Phound web dashboard.
Tap or click the persona switcher bar at the top of the screen. This is the horizontal strip that shows your existing persona icons.
Tap the + (plus) button at the end of the switcher bar.
The Create New Persona screen will appear.

On the web dashboard, you can also navigate to Settings > Personas > Add New Persona if you prefer the settings menu.

Step 2: Choose a Name

The persona name is the display name that contacts will see on their caller ID when you call or text them from this persona. Pick something appropriate for the persona's purpose.

For a work persona: Use your full name or your business name (e.g., "Jane Smith" or "Smith Consulting").
For a personal persona: Use your first name or a nickname.
For a project or role: Use the project name or role title (e.g., "Sunrise Bakery" or "Customer Support").

Type your chosen name into the Persona Name field and tap Next.

Tip: You can change the persona name later at any time from the persona's settings screen. Do not overthink it during initial setup.

Step 3: Pick an Icon or Avatar

Phound uses a visual icon for each persona so you can tell them apart at a glance in the app. You have three options:

Choose from the icon library. Phound includes dozens of pre-built icons organized by category (work, social, creative, travel, and more). Scroll through and tap the one that fits.
Upload a custom image. Tap the Upload button to use a photo from your camera roll or a logo file. Square images at least 256 x 256 pixels work best.
Use your initials. If you skip this step, Phound will generate a color-coded circle with the persona's initials. You can always come back and set a custom icon later.

Select your icon and tap Next to continue.

Step 4: Assign a Phone Number

Every persona needs at least one phone number. During this step you have two paths:

Option A: Get a New Number

Tap Get a New Number.
Choose your preferred area code or search by city name. If you want a toll-free number, toggle the Toll-Free switch.
Phound will display available numbers. Tap any number to preview it, then tap Select to claim it.
If your plan includes the number at no extra cost, you are all set. Otherwise, you will see the monthly fee before confirming.

Option B: Assign an Existing Number

If you already have an unused number in your Phound account (perhaps from a deleted persona), you can assign it here instead.

Tap Use an Existing Number.
Select the number from the list of available numbers in your account.
Tap Assign to link it to this persona.

For a deeper look at managing numbers across personas, see Assign Numbers to Personas.

Warning: Each phone number can belong to only one persona at a time. Assigning a number to a new persona will remove it from any persona it is currently attached to. Double-check before confirming if you have multiple personas set up.

Step 5: Set a Default Greeting

The default greeting is a short text-based message that Phound can display or read aloud in certain scenarios, such as auto-reply texts or voicemail fallback. Think of it as a one-line introduction for this persona.

Examples:

"Hi, you have reached Jane at Smith Consulting. I will get back to you shortly."
"Hey, it is Jake. Leave a message or shoot me a text!"
"Thank you for contacting Sunrise Bakery. We are currently away but will return your call during business hours."

Type your greeting into the Default Greeting field. You can leave it blank and add one later if you prefer.

Step 6: Configure Voicemail

Voicemail setup has two parts: the greeting callers hear, and the notification you receive when a message is left.

Recording a Voicemail Greeting

You have three options for your voicemail greeting:

Record with your microphone. Tap the Record button and speak your greeting. Tap Stop when finished, then Play to review. Re-record as many times as you like.
Text-to-speech. Type your greeting and choose a voice from the available options. Phound will generate a natural-sounding recording for you. This is a great choice if you want consistency or do not want to use your own voice.
Upload an audio file. If you have a professionally recorded greeting, tap Upload and select the file. Supported formats include MP3, WAV, and M4A.

Voicemail Notifications

Choose how you want to be notified when someone leaves a voicemail on this persona:

Push notification (default) — A notification appears on your phone immediately.
Email notification — Phound sends the voicemail as an audio attachment to your email.
Both — You receive both a push notification and an email.
None — Voicemails are stored silently. You will see them the next time you open the persona's inbox.

You can adjust these settings at any time under the persona's Notification Preferences.

Step 7: Customize the Ringtone

Assigning a unique ringtone to each persona helps you identify incoming calls without looking at your phone. During setup, Phound presents a list of built-in ringtones organized by mood (professional, casual, energetic, calm).

Scroll through the list and tap any ringtone to hear a preview.
Tap Select to assign it.
Optionally, set a separate notification sound for text messages below the ringtone picker.

Tip: Pick ringtones that match the persona's context. A calm, understated tone works well for a work persona, while something more playful might suit a personal or social persona. Distinct sounds make it easy to know which part of your life is calling.

Step 8: Review and Create

Once you have completed all the steps, Phound displays a summary screen showing your choices:

Setting	Your Selection
Persona Name	Smith Consulting
Icon	Briefcase
Phone Number	(555) 867-5309
Default Greeting	"Hi, you have reached..."
Voicemail Greeting	Custom recording
Ringtone	Steady Pulse

Review everything and tap Create Persona. Phound provisions the number and builds the persona in a few seconds. When the confirmation screen appears, your new persona is live and ready to receive calls and texts.

What to Do Next

Now that your persona is active, here are some recommended next steps:

Add contacts. Import or manually add the contacts you want associated with this persona. See Managing Contacts.
Set business hours. If this is a work persona, configure the hours during which it should ring and when it should go straight to voicemail. See Setting Business Hours.
Configure auto-responses. Set up automatic text replies for missed calls or after-hours messages. See Auto-Responses.
Share your new number. Start giving out your new persona's phone number to the people who should use it.

Tip: Test your new persona by calling its number from a friend's phone. Listen to the voicemail greeting, check the ringtone, and verify that the caller ID displays correctly. A quick test now saves confusion later.

Editing a Persona After Creation

Every setting you chose during setup can be changed later. Open the Phound app, tap the persona's icon in the switcher bar, then tap Persona Settings (the gear icon). From there you can update the name, swap the icon, change the number, re-record voicemail, and adjust the ringtone.

For major changes like reassigning a phone number to a different persona, see Assign Numbers to Personas.

Still need help?

If you run into any issues while creating a persona, our support team is ready to help. Visit Contact Support to get in touch by chat, email, or phone.