8 Best Burner Phone Number Apps For 2022 | Why Do We Need Them?

Ever wanted a temporary phone number that you could ditch after a few uses? That’s exactly what a burner phone number lets you do. In this article, we look at the best burner phone number apps you should check out.

Although it might not be obvious, having access to a secondary or tertiary phone number for a specific time is advantageous. This way, you can avoid exposing your permanent phone number and safeguard your privacy.

What is the burner phone number? Why do I need one?

A burner phone number is an expendable number you borrow for a short time. There are several apps from services that provide you with these temporary phone numbers. Such an app is called a burner phone number app or a burner number app or burner phone app.

Burner phone numbers serve a variety of purposes. Firstly, they allow you to test a service that requires a phone number without sharing your real one. A temporary number also comes in handy when you are abroad and want a local phone number for your stay. Moreover, a burner phone app can also be of good use for many other things, such as online dating.

8 best burner phone number apps worth trying

Below, we list the best burner number apps for Android and iOS users. The order of this list is random, and each entry is suitable for a certain kind of user.

1. Burner

Burner app is a leading name in this category. It provides American and Canadian residents with one or more burner phone numbers for unlimited calling and texting. You can pick your preferred burner number from various choices belonging to different zip codes.

Moreover, you can configure features such as call forwarding, auto-reply text, voicemail, and more. The app also protects your burner number from spam and lets you set up the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) mode.

Pros:

• Integration with various third-party apps, including Dropbox, Slack, and SoundCloud
• Built-in DND mode
• Spam blocking

Cons:

• Calls from the burner phone number show up in your primary phone number’s invoice
• More expensive than its competitors
• Only suitable for use in U.S. and Canada

Price: Free | Plans start from $4.99 per number (7-day free trial)

2. Hushed

A comprehensive and flexible burner number app, Hushed, is a good fit for most people worldwide. That’s because it provides burner phone numbers based in over 40 countries. These numbers support an optional VoIP calling feature that consumes your data to make calls rather than your talk-time. In addition, it offers useful features such as voicemail, auto-replies, and more for your burner numbers.

Pros:

• Burner phone numbers from over 40 countries
• VoIP calling
• Supports integration with Slack and Dropbox

Cons:

• Auto-renewal of certain subscriptions only available with U.S., Canada, and U.K.-based numbers.
• Numbers from some countries are significantly pricier than those from others

Price: Free | Plans starting from $3 per month (3-day free trial with a U. S.-based number)

3. Line2

Line2 is a burner phone app targeted toward business professionals. It provides a secondary number that packs features such as auto-attendant, on-hold music, pre-recorded messages, toll-free numbers, conference calls, etc. Plus, there is a VoIP calling feature for U. S. and Canada-based numbers. Line2 also has a desktop app, which means you can use your PC to call via the burner number.

Pros:

• Special business-oriented features such as auto-attendant, on-hold music, and more
• VoIP calling for U. S. and Canada-based numbers
• It also works via the desktop app

Cons:

• No free trial
• Way more expensive than its competitors
• Not the best choice for non-business use

Price: Free | Plans start from $15.99 per month (30-day money-back guarantee)

4. Doosra

Doosra is a highly rated and popular burner phone number app for Indian residents. This app provides you with a secondary India-based phone number on the condition that you have an Indian SIM on your phone. Additionally, you would have to complete eKYC before you can use it.

By default, the app blocks unknown calls received on your burner number, which you can turn off for an hour in the free version. The paid version allows you to disable call-blocker indefinitely, log in on multiple devices, use the number for third-party apps, get unlimited voicemails, and more.

Pros:

• Cheap subscription plans
• It can be used on up to 5 devices at once (paid version only)

Cons:

• Can’t initiate calls using the burner number; only a callback is available
• Call-blocker can’t be deactivated indefinitely in the free version
• Only suitable for use in India

Price: Free | Half-yearly plan costs Rs 125 per month; annual plan costs Rs 83 per month

5. Sideline

Sideline is a well-rounded burner phone app with spam detection, VoIP calling option, voicemail, unlimited messages (SMS & MMS), voicemail transcript, and more. You can even port your existing secondary number to it. Besides these benefits, the app also brings certain business-friendly features, including broadcast messages, message templates, auto-replies, etc.

Pros:

• Broadcast messages
• Unlimited SMS & MMS
• VoIP call support

Cons:

• No auto-block for spam

Price: Free | $9.99 per month (7-day free trial)

6. 2ndLine

2ndLine is another burner phone number app aimed at businesses in the U.S. and Canada. It provides a free burner number to free account users in exchange for ads. You can place unlimited calls and send unlimited SMS and picture messages in the two aforementioned countries using this number. For making calls to other countries, you’ll need to buy credits.

In this app, you have several useful features, including VoIP calling, call forwarding, voicemail transcript, and more. It’s worth noting that it vacates your burner number after a period of inactivity. The premium version removes all ads and allows you to keep your secondary number for a longer period.

Pros:

• Unlimited free calling in U.S.-Canada.
• Unlimited free SMS and picture messages within U.S. and Canada
• Voicemail transcript
• VoIP calling support

Cons:

• Automatically vacates number if inactive (in the free version)
• Not available for iOS devices

Price: Free | Premium plan starts from $2.49

7. Flyp

Not one but five! You get five U.S.-based burner phone numbers with Flyp on which you have unlimited calling and texting (including pictures) when contacting other U.S. numbers. Using these burner numbers, you can communicate with people from over 15 countries. The app allows you to define a custom voicemail greeting and DND mode settings for each number separately.

Pros:

• Up to 5 burner phone number
• Unlimited calling, texting (plus picture messages)
• Custom voicemail greeting
• DND mode

Cons:

• No support for VoIP calling
• Call records reflect on your primary phone number
• App not updated regularly

Price: Free | $7.99 per month per number (7-day free trial for the first burner number)

8. Cloud SIM

With Cloud SIM, you can string up to 4 burner phone numbers based in the U.S., Canada, France, Poland, and the U.K. It allows you to exchange SMSes for free with other Android phones. In addition to that, you get features, such as DND mode and custom voicemail, for each burner number.

Pros:

• Up to 4 numbers from various countries
• Supports VoIP calling
• Free texting with other Android users

Cons:

• No basic features such as call forwarding

Price: Free | 1.2c per minute and 5c per message

The aforementioned burner phone apps offer a variety of features for different groups of users. You can choose the right one for you based on factors such as which country’s burner numbers you want, whether you want business-oriented features or not, and so on.

Finally, that wraps up our list of the best burner phone number apps. If you have something to add, feel free to comment below. For those interested in looking up unknown numbers, here’s a list of the best reverse phone lookup apps for Android and iOS.