
Or maybe you want to toss one into a child’s backpack to use on the way home from school in an emergency. This could be ideal for travelers, perhaps, or at least as a back-up phone if your main device’s battery peters out. Because most these devices don’t have big screens and advanced radios like 4G/LTE and GPS, they likely boast much longer battery life than a premium smartphone. Toss it into your glove box and you’ll know it’s there, just in case.īack-up phone: While some burner phones have some advanced features, most are no-frills devices used for calls or texts only. And so, a practical application for a cheap burner phone is to keep it for emergency purposes only. Heck, you don’t even need a SIM card in the phone, for that matter. Palm's $5 smartphone plan: A cellphone bill cheaper than a Netflix subscriptionĪside from privacy, there are other reasons you might consider a burner phone:įor emergencies: Thanks to an FCC mandate, every mobile phone must be able to dial 9-1-1 – even if you aren’t signed up with a carrier. Anonymity isn’t fully guaranteed, however, as burner phones can still be located over a cellular network by the temporary phone number or logged whenever you call someone else’s phone via their carrier.
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Sure, you can block someone on your main phone, but they could still contact you from another number.īurner phones can be bought with cash and with no contract, plus providers that sell these devices don’t track personal data. Instead, when the transactions are completed, you can simply stop using (or “burn”) the temporary phone.īurner phones are also desirable to those who use dating apps, as you might not want to give out your primary number to someone you don’t end up with. After all, you’re opening up the possibility of unwanted calls or texts from strangers on your personal line.

While you might think a “burner phone” is something only a criminal may use to avoid being tracked by authorities, law-abiding citizens may also appreciate the privacy awarded by a burner phone.įor example, you might not want to use your main phone number if you’re posting items on Craigslist or another classifieds site.
