This is where “burner” phone numbers come in handy. These are temporary, disposable phone numbers that you can use for circumstances where you don’t want to share your “real” number such as online dating, Craigslist, and sales companies. We asked a few of our writers, “Do you think having a “burner” phone number is a good practice?”
Our Opinion
For the most part our writers definitely see the use for burner phone numbers. Mahesh finds that they work great for “the projects that you don’t want to be involved in after finishing them.” He compares it to a work email that you only use for specific work.
Shujaa says that in Pakistan having burner phones is a common thing. He believes using one is like with other things, “use it correctly, and it can be very useful, but use it for the wrong things, and the results can be disastrous.” Derrik and Trevor don’t use burner numbers, per se, but they use Google Voice in much the same way. Derrik jokes that he prefers people not call him anyway. Trevor uses Google Voice for business and his cell for personal to keep things separate. Yet he sees how burner numbers could come in handy for Facebook and Craigslist. I have a receipts app that has set up a burner type of email for me to have companies send their receipts to. They filter through it and add the necessary receipts and delete all that junk mail for me. Through that I can see how a burner number could be useful, and I am tempted to try it to hopefully put an end to the non-stop landline sales calls I get.
Your Opinion
We’re interested in your opinion as well. Do you have a burner phone number? If not, have you ever thought of trying one? Do you think having a burner phone number is a good practice? Let us know in the comments section below.
