What is a Burner Phone and How Does it Work?

What is a burner phone and how does it work – A burner phone is a cheap or prepaid cell phone that is used for a short time and then discarded when you finally don’t need it anymore. Burner phones can be used as a way to conceal your identity or purpose for whatever reasons.

The term burner phone was once popularised by an American drama television series “The Wire”. It is a crime drama series that explores the realistic insight of the drug trade in Baltimore, Maryland. Its theme also captures the city’s government and bureaucracy, including the education system and news media— hence why at that time it was lauded for its literary themes, its uncommonly accurate exploration of society and politics, and its realistic portrayal of urban life.

Burner phone meaning or what is a burner cell phone?

A burner phone is a cheap or prepaid mobile phone that the owner generally doesn’t intend on keeping for the long term. Meaning that once the owner doesn’t need them, they can just throw them away in the bin or destroy them, whatever they see fit as the phone itself doesn’t cost as much to begin with.

Considering that prepaid burner phones also cost really cheap, the phone itself tends to be easily purchased with cash rather than through let’s say, a monthly instalment. This creates a lesser trace of purchase as it doesn’t involve any long paperwork that trails the phone to the individual who purchased them.

What is a burner phone used for?

There are various personal reasons why people would opt to use burner phones. However, generally, it is because they wanted to protect their identity and privacy.

While some might think that the use of burner phones is tightly related to bad intentions, it is not always the case as some people just wanted to remain anonymous in the digital world. Let’s say that you are thinking of using a secure messaging service such as Telegram but at the same time don’t want to disclose your primary number. This is where the burner phone shines.

Other scenarios such as trying to avoid telemarketers from real estate or insurance quotes can be used as a good example. It’s no longer a secret that each time you provide your personal information to another service, your personal privacy is at their mercy and will likely be used by them for their personal gain.

A burner phone in the form of an application

In 2012, a developer Ad Hoc Labs launched an app named Burner that lets users create a temporary disposable phone number in the US and Canada. The app is still available on both iOS and Android.

The Burner app allows users to make phone calls, SMS and MMS like normal phone numbers do through their issued phone number. Users can also purchase credits for the given temporary number.

What’s interesting about the app is that it was also featured in the TV drama The Wire being used by drug dealers. However, in actual real-time use, the company states that they would comply with the authority request as long as they can provide valid search warrants.

Bottom line

Whats a burner phone? A burner phone is a cheap or prepaid mobile phone that the owner generally doesn’t intend on keeping for the long term. Burner phones tend to be combined with burner numbers.

Then what is a burner phone number? A burner phone number is a number that someone bought for some specific reason and usually doesn’t plan to be kept for long. The easiest way to get a burner phone number is by purchasing it as a prepaid bundle of the burner phone.

What is burner app? A burner app is basically a burner phone in the form of an application. The developer Ad Hoc Labs launches an app named Burner that lets users create temporary phone numbers in the US and Canada that can easily be disposed of once it’s no longer needed.