---
title: "Getting started"
url: "https://numberburn.com/help/getting-started.md"
canonical_url: "https://numberburn.com/help/getting-started"
last_updated: "2026-10-19"
type: "how-to"
summary: "What NumberBurn is and the five steps to get a number, hand it out and burn it."
related: ["https://numberburn.com/help.md", "https://numberburn.com/help/verify-your-mobile.md", "https://numberburn.com/help/receive-texts.md", "https://numberburn.com/help/burn-a-number.md"]
---

# Getting started

What NumberBurn is and the five steps to get a number, hand it out and burn it.

NumberBurn rents receive-only US phone numbers that you hand out and throw away. This page covers what it does and the steps you follow.

## What NumberBurn is

A NumberBurn number is a real US phone number that you give to a stranger, a marketplace buyer or a website instead of your own. It only receives. Anything sent to it reaches you, and nothing about your own number is shown.

- Calls to the number ring one confirmed real mobile phone of yours. The caller only ever sees the NumberBurn number.
- Texts land in a web inbox, tagged with the number that received them. There is no app, and you cannot reply.
- One tap burns a number. Forwarding stops at once, your message history stays visible, and the number rests in quarantine before it returns to the carrier pool.

## The trial

Every new account can start with a 7 day trial for $1. The trial holds 1 number and 100 forwarded minutes. Details are on the [billing and usage](https://numberburn.com/help/billing-and-usage.md) page.

## How it works

1. **Choose an area code.** Pick one of the supported US area codes. NumberBurn finds an available number there and assigns it to your account.
2. **Verify your mobile.** Text `START <code>` from the mobile you want calls to ring. The 4 digit code is shown to you at that step. See [verify your mobile](https://numberburn.com/help/verify-your-mobile.md).
3. **Hand out the number.** Give the number to whoever needs it. You can label each number so you remember who has it.
4. **Use your inbox.** Open the web inbox to read texts and codes. Calls ring your verified mobile. See [receive texts](https://numberburn.com/help/receive-texts.md) and [calls and minutes](https://numberburn.com/help/calls-and-minutes.md).
5. **Burn it when you are done.** Burn the number in one tap. See [burn a number](https://numberburn.com/help/burn-a-number.md) for what stays and what goes.

## Read next

- [Limits and 911](https://numberburn.com/help/limits-and-911.md): what a NumberBurn number cannot do.
- [Troubleshooting](https://numberburn.com/help/troubleshooting.md): when a text or a call does not arrive.
- [Pricing](https://numberburn.com/pricing.md): the plans.

## Related

- [Help center](https://numberburn.com/help.md)
- [Verify your mobile](https://numberburn.com/help/verify-your-mobile.md)
- [Receive texts](https://numberburn.com/help/receive-texts.md)
- [Burn a number](https://numberburn.com/help/burn-a-number.md)