An OfferUp phone number that is not your own

Why a burner number here

Local selling means strangers know how to reach you. A number you can switch to texts only, or burn, gives you a clean way to end contact when the sale is done.

• Keep your real number private. Buyers who call or text reach a NumberBurn number, not the phone you carry everywhere.
• Stop calls and texts after you are done. Switch the number to texts only so calls stop, or burn it. Either way you keep control of who can still reach your real phone.
• See who sold your number. Each number carries a label, and the dashboard shows how many calls it took in the last 30 days. If a number you gave one place starts ringing from strangers, you can tell where it leaked.

How to set it up

1. 1

   Pick an area code

   Choose one of the supported US area codes and NumberBurn finds a number in it. A number in your own area code can feel familiar to a local buyer.

2. 2

   Verify your mobile

   From your real mobile, text START and the 4-digit code shown on screen to the new number. The code works for 30 minutes. Calls to your NumberBurn numbers ring this one confirmed mobile.

3. 3

   Label the number

   Name the number after the item you are selling. Labels are only visible to you.

4. 4

   Hand it out

   Offer the number when a buyer asks to call or text. Use a different number for a different item if you sell several things.

5. 5

   Watch the inbox

   Texts appear in the web inbox, tagged with the number that received them. There is no app. Calls ring your mobile while the number is on Forward. Read buyer texts in the inbox. To answer in writing, use the platform's messages or your own phone.

6. 6

   Burn it when done

   One tap. Forwarding stops at once, the message history stays visible to you, and the number is held out of circulation for 30 days before it goes back to the carrier pool. Burning is permanent. Switching to texts only is the gentler option if you might still want the messages to keep arriving.

What to know first

• Receive-only. You cannot call or text from a NumberBurn number. It only receives.
• No 911. A NumberBurn number cannot place any call, emergency calls included. Use your own phone.
• US numbers only.
• Calls ring your mobile while forwarding is on. If you call a buyer from your own phone, they see your own number.
• Some sites and apps refuse virtual numbers. Check the rules of the site you plan to use before you rely on a NumberBurn number there.