Burner: 2nd Phone Number Line

About Burner: 2nd Phone Number Line

I downloaded Burner because my old number-masking app started glitching out and showing my real caller ID during calls. That was a dealbreaker for me. I’m a private person — I don’t want random Craigslist buyers or people from dating apps knowing my real number or address. Burner is basically what it says: a clean second line on your existing phone without needing a second SIM or device. You pick an area code, get a fresh number, and can call/text from inside the app. The interface is pretty minimal, which I actually prefer — no flashing ads, no “sponsored numbers” shoved in your face. I’ve used it for three days so far on my iPhone 15 Pro and it’s been rock solid during calls, which matters a lot to me because dropped calls make me crazy.

Core Features

You get a proper second number that works for both calls and texts. The app supports MMS too — I tested sending a photo to my sister and it arrived fine, no compression weirdness. There’s voicemail with custom greetings, which I set up for my “business” line (I sell furniture on Facebook Marketplace). Call forwarding is there if you want calls to ring your main phone line, but I keep it off because I want separation. You can also set time-based auto-replies — like if you only want the line active during work hours, it’ll text people back saying you’re unavailable. I haven’t used the multi-device thing yet, but I see it supports iPad and Apple Watch sync. Honestly, the feature I appreciate most is the ability to simply delete the number when I’m done — no hoops to jump through, no begging customer support.

Real-World Use

Last Tuesday evening I posted a vintage desk on Marketplace around 6 PM. Within an hour I got seven texts and two calls. Normally I’d be anxious about giving out my real number to strangers who might show up at my house, but with Burner I just gave them that number. One buyer called me at 9 PM and I ignored it — let it go to the Burner voicemail, which has a generic greeting that doesn’t even mention my name. The next morning I texted the serious buyer back, agreed on a pickup time, and when he asked for my address I felt fine giving it because he only had my throwaway number. After the sale I just deleted the whole number. That peace of mind is worth more than any flashy feature. The only small annoyance is that outgoing calls show up as the Burner number on the recipient’s phone — which is the whole point, but some people got confused and asked “who is this?” until I pre-texted them.

Pricing & Value

Alright, here’s where I almost deleted the app. Burner is not free after the trial period. You get a short trial with limited minutes/texts, then you have to buy “credits” or a subscription. The pricing felt steep at first — around $5 for a basic burner number that lasts 14 days, or you can buy longer plans. I ended up getting a month subscription for about $15. Compared to getting a second SIM through my carrier which would be $20/month plus activation fees, it’s actually better. But if you only need a number for one weekend to sell a couch, paying $5 feels kinda painful. There are cheaper apps out there (Google Voice is free for example), but those don’t let you just delete the number instantly. The value depends on your use case. For me, someone who values easy deletion and real privacy, I’ll probably keep it on a month-to-month basis.

Updates & Support

I haven’t contacted support myself because the app worked fine out of the box. But I always read app store reviews before buying, and I saw a mix. Some people complained that their credits expired without warning, or that deleting a number didn’t fully stop billing. That makes me nervous — I’m very careful about recurring charges. The developer, Ad Hoc Labs, seems to respond to most negative reviews within a day or two, which is a good sign. The app itself got an update about two weeks ago that fixed some SMS delivery issues on iOS, and I haven’t had any messages fail. So I’m cautiously optimistic about support responsiveness, but I’m going to keep an eye on my banking app to make sure no extra charges show up.

Data & Privacy

This is the main reason I’m writing this review. I always — always — check what permissions an app asks for before hitting “allow.” Burner only wanted access to my microphone and notifications. No contacts access, no photo library, no location. That immediately made me trust it more than most free apps. I skimmed their privacy policy (I know, who actually does that?), and they claim they only keep call text metadata like timestamps and phone numbers, not the actual content of your messages. They also say they don’t sell your data. Compare that to something like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, and it’s night and day. There is a concern though: since calls and texts go through their servers, technically they could log them. I wish they had end-to-end encryption for texts, but they don’t advertise that. For my use (buying/selling and dating), I don’t mind as much. For truly sensitive conversations, I’d use Signal. Overall, Burner respects my privacy better than most apps I’ve tried, and that’s rare.