CLIENTS: Burner Phone vs Primary Cell vs Google Voice vs ???

[jockstrapdaddy]

On 8/9/2025 at 11:13 AM, JamesB said:

I use a VoIP number app that only requires an email to register an email I created solely for this purpose. If I see someone multiple times and become a regular, then they’ll get my real number. I have no interest in giving every provider I try my personal phone number. For the same reason, first meetings are always at their place or a hotel, I don’t want every provider I meet to know where I live.

Do you mind sharing the VoIP number app that you use? 

[jockstrapdaddy]

On 8/9/2025 at 11:46 AM, ApexNomad said:

I have my personal assistant make all my arrangements.  So much easier than burner phones. Bad experience, no problem. Hire another assistant.

is this for real? 😅

[jockstrapdaddy]

On 8/12/2025 at 1:43 PM, Chien Andalou said:

I have always had to use my phone for work and didn’t want text bubbles about meeting at some hotel that afternoon to pop up on my screen.

I used to have a crappy burner; now I use the Hushed app on my phone. It provides a phone number with domestic calls and texts for something like 50 bucks a year. It allows me continuity without using my actual phone. Works like a charm. (After reading about it here, I do wonder what Mr. Number says about that number.)

I used to have WhatsApp tied to the burner number. Now it’s attached to my personal number and I don’t use it for “the hobby.” I have considered trying WhatsApp Business with my alternate number but haven’t bit the bullet.

I recently signed up for Signal, which is purportedly the most secure, but none of the providers I’ve tried to contact are registered. 

Think that using a prepaid number for as a secondary sim and attaching it to a whatsapp business account is going to be my route. 👍

[jockstrapdaddy]

SUMMARY of the responses I’ve seen:

1) Primary Phone - “I’ve got nothing to lose” or “I don’t see any real danger in it”

2) Burner App - seems to be THE preferred option by a good contingent!

3) Prepaid Number - Third option appears to be a prepaid sim to use for texting

4) Whatsapp Business - Using a Burner or Prepaid number to setup a whatsapp business as a secondary whatsapp messenger. 

There were a few other one-offs so I apologize if I didn’t identify yours, but these seemed to be the front runners! 

[+ JamesB]

13 minutes ago, jockstrapdaddy said:

Do you mind sharing the VoIP number app that you use? 

TextNow

Android

IOS

[+ ApexNomad]

24 minutes ago, jockstrapdaddy said:

is this for real? 😅

Of course not… I have them hire their replacement first then I fire them.

[+ SirBillybob]

1 hour ago, jockstrapdaddy said:

SUMMARY of the responses I’ve seen:

1) Primary Phone - “I’ve got nothing to lose” or “I don’t see any real danger in it”

2) Burner App - seems to be THE preferred option by a good contingent!

3) Prepaid Number - Third option appears to be a prepaid sim to use for texting

4) Whatsapp Business - Using a Burner or Prepaid number to setup a whatsapp business as a secondary whatsapp messenger. 

There were a few other one-offs so I apologize if I didn’t identify yours, but these seemed to be the front runners! 

Good summary; you didn't just phone it in.

[jayjaycali]

I find it's gets tricky with the address book / contacts list.  On the same phone, one misclick on contacts permissions and your 'fun' contacts get shared to the rest of your apps and LinkedIn is recommending them as people you may know and probably vice versa.  

Burner app I think keeps its own contacts list, but others not sure (WhatsApp I think asks for contacts lists to work). 

Separate phone comes in handy.  

 

[jockstrapdaddy]

On 8/15/2025 at 7:58 PM, jayjaycali said:

I find it's gets tricky with the address book / contacts list.  On the same phone, one misclick on contacts permissions and your 'fun' contacts get shared to the rest of your apps and LinkedIn is recommending them as people you may know and probably vice versa.  

Burner app I think keeps its own contacts list, but others not sure (WhatsApp I think asks for contacts lists to work). 

Separate phone comes in handy.  

 

Totally forgot about this. Your are so right! The shared contacts issue is legitimately one of my big nightmares.

You are correct What's App wants your device contacts to sync to there servers and link you to other people.  I hate it. lol

Google Voice does use the google contacts associated with that google account so it uses a separate source. That's how I'm currently making it work. I recently had to go through a process to create a hobby google account and port my google voice number over to the new account JUST to accomplish this. 

Back to the drawing board. A burner of some kind is sounding more and more likely. 😞 It just seems like there should be a better way. 

Feel like I've wanted a way to keep work and personal separate for years and there still isn't a good solution for that. Something that truly separates and silos the two without requiring a second device. The same concept would be perfect for this. 🙃

*sigh*

[jayjaycali]

Actually that reminded me, Android now has something called Private Space where you can partition apps away and with a different Google login so it's treated like a separated account and can't share.  At least i think that's what it does.  Haven't tried it myself. 

[The Dude]

On 8/14/2025 at 6:50 AM, mikefl81 said:

I’m also a big fan of the Burner app and recommend it. 
 

My only complaint is I sometimes don’t receive a text if the provider is sending a picture, often a photo containing their rates/services. It’s happened a few times causing a miscommunication but the message will come through on the second try.  Not sure if it’s a glitch or not. 

I think Burner also looks for certain words and blocks them. For example, if I use the word "outcall" it sometimes doesn't go through and the guy thinks I never responded.

[+ bashful]

On 8/9/2025 at 11:13 AM, spidir said:

I purchased a burner phone years ago and add minutes/data as needed. All paid for with cash.

Me too.  Too bad i had to upgrade the phone when the second one died, and the current one now is to new to get the 3x min, text, data  that Tracfone used to give when purchasing the 1 year card.   Luckily, I would buy the 1 year card some times twice a year and the amounts would accumulate, and roll over.  I should check my balances. Haven’t done for some time.

[Bokomaru]

On 8/16/2025 at 10:18 PM, The Dude said:

I think Burner also looks for certain words and blocks them. For example, if I use the word "outcall" it sometimes doesn't go through and the guy thinks I never responded.

This is a great point. The fact that they block certain words points out the fact that they don’t encrypt end-to-end. WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal and Telegram all do.  That’s why I use my Burner number for WhatsApp. 
 

[Chien Andalou]

On 8/12/2025 at 12:33 PM, MikeBiDude said:

I setup a second WhatsApp account, one “business” and one “hobby”. My Burner App is on the personal and my primary phone for the WhatsApp business account.

The WhatsApp Business terms of service state that it can only be used for business and cannot be used for personal communications. Have you encountered any issues? That is what has been keeping me from signing up. 

[MikeBiDude]

2 hours ago, Chien Andalou said:

The WhatsApp Business terms of service state that it can only be used for business and cannot be used for personal communications. Have you encountered any issues? That is what has been keeping me from signing up. 

No I’ve never had an issue. Mind you the “business” account is on my “real” personal phone. I’ve used WhatsApp business while traveling with friends in group chats etc., never a problem. I do get a lot of spam group invitations for investor groups etc.

[jockstrapdaddy]

Have been messaging a couple of providers for next weekend and this happened this morning. 🙃

 

[+ Alabastrine]

client here. I don't have a lot of contacts in the hobby world, but I use a burner phone with Signal installed on it. The phone was acquired with cash, and every once in a while I buy a refill for phone or data as needed (also, cash only for a little more anonymity). I don't use the phone unless I need to communicate with a provider. You can also install Signal on your laptop and communicate with the same Signal account that you have on your phone. The signal app can also do a "signal call", I personally haven't tested that feature yet, but it allows me to communicate with the provider without having to use the burner phone. In the case you don't use Signal, I'd assume a real phone - burner or not - would be more reliable than a google voice account... The only downside to use Signal on a burner phone is that you piss though data pretty quick if they send you photos or if you exchange cute little voice messages back and forth between the app. I ran out of data on the burner phone plan once because of that- not a huge deal, but if you're gonna use a lot of data on a burner phone, have a few refill cards purchased in advance so you can active them and add em to your phone account- whether that's tracfone or whatever..

Edited August 26, 2025 by Alabastrine
more detail added

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

Getting a 2nd phone seems like a lot of work to hide something I'm not afraid of hiding.  What's next, buying a 2nd house just to host in so the masseur doesn't find out my "real" address when he comes over for my massage?

[+ FrankR]

1 hour ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

Getting a 2nd phone seems like a lot of work to hide something I'm not afraid of hiding.  What's next, buying a 2nd house just to host in so the masseur doesn't find out my "real" address when he comes over for my massage?

Your “hold my beer” warning light is on. Indicating your risk meter may be broken. This could be a serious and immediate issue…you need to have checked out.  😎

[AlexW]

Has anyone tried using a portable wifi hotspot with a SIM-less phone while leaving their primary phone at a fixed location (like home or the office) to avoid being tracked? If so, which one do you recommend? 

[jockstrapdaddy]

On 3/17/2026 at 11:53 AM, AlexW said:

Has anyone tried using a portable wifi hotspot with a SIM-less phone while leaving their primary phone at a fixed location (like home or the office) to avoid being tracked? If so, which one do you recommend? 

Your WiFi hotspot will broadcast your location to your telcom. Is this more about not being tracked by friends and family on iOS Find My (formerly find friends) or Life 360 etc? 

 

[AlexW]

Correct. 

[jockstrapdaddy]

3 minutes ago, AlexW said:

Correct. 

1) For iOS, I have found the best method to be an iPad. You can set your iPad to share your location: "Use This iPad as My Location" and leave it plugged in at whatever location you choose. With this you don't have to worry about my co-worker or sister sending me random inquiries "Why were you at this bar at 2am?" 😅 Then when you get home you can just switch it back by selecting the same option on your iPhone "Use This iPhone as My Location". 

For Life 360, not sure if there is a way to swap between devices. 

Google's location sharing via Google Maps does NOT let you switch between devices easily. It seems to choose what ever device it sees as active. 

2) Alternatively, you can get a cheap e-sim for you other phone like $10 for a month (and you can cancel when not in use). This would give you a small amount of data to use, a phone number, etc. 

3) Start kicking people that are being nosy about your life off your friend follow apps. lol I literally just did this.

[AlexW]

Thank you! All great suggestions. I am on IOS and I did get another SIM for my secondary phone. I am free!! 🤣

I appreciate your support. Thank you!

[Colton]

19 hours ago, jockstrapdaddy said:

. With this you don't have to worry about my co-worker or sister sending me random inquiries "Why were you at this bar at 2am?" 😅 Then when you get home you can just switch it back by selecting the same option on your iPhone "Use This iPhone as My Location". 

This works but note that people in your iCloud family can click over to the devices tab and see where your iPhone is.  But thats an extra step that most people won't do.