A temporary phone number that ends when you say

What a temporary phone number is

A temporary phone number is one you use for a limited time: a sale, a trip, a job search, a short project. When the reason is gone, so is the number.

Temporary can mean a number that expires on a timer or a number that you retire yourself. NumberBurn is the second kind: it does not expire on its own schedule, and you end it with a burn.

Where NumberBurn fits

NumberBurn rents receive-only US numbers. Hold one as long as you need, switch it to Texts only or Block when you want quiet, and burn it when you are finished. A trial of 7 days with 1 number costs $1.

• A number for a single listing or sale.
• A number on a resume for the length of a job search.
• A number for a short conversation, kept apart from your main one.

As a second phone number

A second phone number is a number besides your main one that you can give out. People use one to keep their main number private, or to separate listings, signups and deliveries from daily life.

There are two very different needs behind the phrase. Some people want a second line to place calls and send texts from. Others only want a number to hand out and receive on, and that is the part NumberBurn covers.

• Listings and sales, such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp.
• A number for a first conversation, as on the dating page.
• A number on a resume that you can retire when the search ends.

As a disposable phone number

A disposable phone number is a number you give to someone you do not fully trust with your real one, planning to discard it. The point is that losing it costs you nothing.

Throwing a number away means two things: the number stops reaching you, and you can still see what came in before. That is the part that matters when you later wonder where something came from.

Burning is one tap and permanent: forwarding stops at once, message history stays visible to you, and the number is held 30 days before it returns to the carrier pool. After the trial, the first burn each calendar month is free and each further burn that month adds a charge to your next bill. The burn screen shows it before you confirm. See pricing.

Where NumberBurn does not fit

• Calling or texting out. NumberBurn is receive-only. It is not a second line for placing calls or sending texts.
• Emergencies. A NumberBurn number cannot place any call, 911 included. Use your own phone.
• A number that people reply to. You read texts in a web inbox and cannot answer from the number.
• Sites that refuse virtual numbers. Some sites and banks do. Check the site's own rules before you rely on a NumberBurn number there.
• Numbers outside the US. NumberBurn offers US numbers only.

How it works

1. 1

   Pick an area code

   Choose one of the supported US area codes and NumberBurn finds a number in it. Pick one near you if you want the number to look local.

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

   Give it a name such as the listing or signup it is for. The dashboard then shows how many calls each number took in the last 30 days.

4. 4

   Hand it out

   Give the number to the person or place that needs a contact. Everyone who uses it reaches the same number.

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. Each number can be set to Forward, Texts only or Block.

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.

The burn lifecycle

A number moves through a short, fixed life. You control when it ends.

Burning is permanent. If you only want calls to stop, switch the number to Texts only instead.

NumberBurn, a second SIM or app line, or your own number

The three options solve different problems. This table lists what NumberBurn does; the other two columns are general descriptions and vary by service.