Burner review: Disposable phone numbers for maximum privacy
Burner handles this conundrum with grace and style, putting multiple short-term phone numbers at your disposal for any occasion, each of which can be nuked with the tap of a button. Signup is quick and painless, although you are required to share your real iPhone number with the developer, which then becomes your account number.
Although the app is free with a seven-day trial, additional burners require credits, which can be purchased in-app starting at $2. Credits are used to buy packages ranging from 60 texts plus 20 talk minutes for 14 days, up to an unlimited 30-day burner; only the Picture Burner option includes MMS messaging.
It’s important to note when a burner expires, any history and unused minutes/texts also go up in flames—there’s no undo option available. Users can also choose to extend the life of a burner for 90 days at a time, topping off available minutes and texts in the process, although this gets expensive for long-term use.
Burner uses actual cellular minutes for phone calls, so it can’t be used on iPad or iPod touch, and it currently works only in the U.S. (except for Puerto Rico) and Canada. You create new “burners” by entering a custom name and desired area code, which doesn’t have to match your current location. One of several test burners I set up couldn’t be used at all, which the developer attributed to a rare issue with the numbers assigned by an outside provider (credit refunds are issued in such cases).
Multiple burners can be managed by horizontally swiping between numbers, or you can display all recent activity from a single page. Each burner offers default or custom voicemail greetings, along with color coding to help identify which one is currently in use. The latest update adds a handy auto-reply option for text messages, Burner’s take on email vacation mode.
Calls, texts, and picture messages are all confined to Burner—for outgoing calls, confidentiality is maintained by first dialing the temporary number, then connecting the number being called. Users are alerted to incoming calls via push notification; after answering, you’ll have the option to accept or decline the call with the press of a button.
Speaking of privacy, the entire app can be hidden from prying eyes by setting up a four-digit PIN code and optionally Touch ID on late-model iPhones. One thing I particularly liked was the option to temporarily unlock Burner for certain lengths of time—minutes, hours, or the rest of the day—when you’re frequently using the app.
Burner isn’t the most affordable way to maintain alternate numbers on your iPhone, but it’s definitely one of the most convenient, with a slick UI and loads of delightful conveniences like voicemail, Touch ID, and auto-reply.