How to get A Temporary Cell Phone
We may rightly call the current era as a ‘Digital Era’ as we can now easily do most of the tasks we once used to do in-person can be now done online. But this does provide some risk like the exposure of our privacy. While you could also be safer by using the best reverse phone lookup services, temporary cell phone numbers could do wonders!
A temporary cell phone number is a great way to protect your privacy when dealing with situations like blind dates or exchanges set up on online classified sites. You could get a temporary cell number in a number of ways. You could use an app like Text Now or similar, which allows you to get a second line. You could also buy a new SIM CARD and replace your old one.
You can also get a temporary cell phone number through apps that may operate using your cell phone minutes or through WIFI connections. Skype and Google voice are choices for getting an additional phone number that you can use temporarily with the option to keep it long term.
Here is how you can get a temporary number legally and use it to your benefit-
1] To get a prepaid phone
Getting prepaid phones, also called as ‘Burner Phones’, is the most hassle-free method to get a temporary cell number. One can easily buy such phones in electronic shops and use prepaid sim cards to use them. These sim cards are easily activated by calling the service providers or by visiting their website (personal details aren’t asked). We can recharge this phone with any amount of money, keeping in mind the amount of time for which we want to use this number, or we can recharge it to minimal amounts just before using it. Hence it proves to be of great use for temporary usage.
2] To get a prepaid SIM card
In case the phone which you are currently using supports using multiple SIM cards, then instead of buying a burner phone, you could buy a prepaid ‘burner SIM card’. One can use this SIM card just for temporary usage. We can activate it easily by calling the service providers. These SIM cards will work till the balance you credited in the SIM before using it runs out. We can also recharge it just before using it with a minimal amount. The mentioned method also serves as a hassle-free method to get a temporary phone number.
3] Using a Burner App
Using a Burner App is the most popular method of getting a temporary phone number. There are various apps which are supported on both android/IOS, which are very helpful and easy to use. There is no need to invest in an extra phone or SIM if you go with this option. Some popular burner apps are-
i) Burner
As the name suggests, this app is a very popular choice to get a temporary cell phone number though it is only available in the US or Canada. It provides us with a phone number with a local area code which one can use for calls, texts or messages. It also provides us with the feature of deleting or ‘burning’ the number, after its use, by just clicking a button. We can also connect it to other apps to share files or items, and it also provides a feature to generate automatic responses to certain contacts. We get a seven-day free trial with 20 minutes of talk time, after which you can make use of the premium feature to get a subscription, after which you will get a permanent number with unlimited talk time.
ii) Skype
Skype also provides us with the facility of using temporary numbers to send and receive calls. Skype numbers are available in 25 countries/ regions. One can pay a flat fee for unlimited calls. The calls can be done/ received across various platforms like a computer, tablet or a smartphone. One just has to choose the country/ region and buy the skype number, share your Skype number whenever needed and receive any incoming call using the Skype App.
iii) Text Now
It is a free application that can be easily downloaded from the Google play store or Apple’s App Store. It gives us various options like calling, sending and receiving texts. One also has the choice of choosing the area code that they want for the number. They can use the number until they want to quit or delete the app.
4] Using online websites
Certain websites are available online, providing the facility of getting temporary numbers just for receiving SMS confirmation codes. These online facilities come in handy when you are signing up/registering for something which sends an OTP as confirmation codes. But the texts that are received can be seen by anyone using the website, which makes it not so secure for getting personal texts, but it proves to be a great option for receiving confirmation code texts.
Some of the websites that provide such facilities are-
i) recievesms.org
recievesms.org is a website that gives free numbers for various countries. It also tells about the number of temporary numbers that are available to use for each country. No fee is charged to receive SMS using the temporary number provided by this website. It is fully secure, and one doesn’t have to use their original number to sign up for this. There is fast SMS delivery which means that one doesn’t have to wait until long to receive SMS on the temporary number. The numbers that we get from this website can only receive SMS, but one cannot send SMS using this number. Only a web browser is required to access this website to get a temporary number easily!
ii) sms-online.co/receive-free-sms
This website also offers numbers for various countries, and new countries are constantly being added. The SMS sent to the temporary numbers can be received fast and safely. Premium features like receiving emojis in text messages or texts in different languages like Arabic, Chinese are also given to the users free of cost! New numbers get constantly added, and one can subscribe to their newsletter to get regular updates.
