A Burner Phone Is Your Best Protection Against Border Searches. Here’s What to Know

Crossing the border may be extraordinarily aggravating. And now your phone adds another layer. According to new figures from US Customs and Border Protection, practically 15,000 gadget searches had been carried out between April and June — over 1,000 of them utilizing superior instruments that replicate or analyze a cellphone’s contents. The rising numbers elevate questions on how a lot private knowledge vacationers could also be handing over with out realizing it. 

The reply? Buying a burner cellphone. It can preserve you related for calls and texts whereas limiting the quantity of non-public info saved on it. It’s not nearly crossing borders both — having a stripped-down gadget will help reduce display time, scale back distractions and provide you with a psychological break from fixed notifications.

Even celebrities have embraced the swap. Conan O’Brien has stated that carrying an easier cellphone helps him keep targeted, proving that generally much less actually is extra. If your smartphone feels prefer it holds an excessive amount of of your life, scaling again — whether or not for journey or on a regular basis use — may be value contemplating.

Read extra: Best Prepaid Phone of 2025

Although carriers have supplied pay as you go telephones for the reason that ’90s, “burner phones” or “burners” grew to become extra in style within the 2000s following the celebrated HBO sequence The Wire, the place they helped characters keep away from getting caught by the police. Though typically portrayed in that gentle, burners aren’t solely utilized by criminals, however actually by anybody involved with surveillance or privateness infringement.

What is a burner cellphone, and the way does it work? Here’s every part it’s worthwhile to learn about burners and methods to get one.

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What is a burner cellphone?

A burner cellphone is an inexpensive pay as you go cellphone with no commitments. It comes with a set variety of pay as you go name minutes, textual content messages or knowledge, and it is designed to be disposed of after use.

Burners are contract-free, and you’ll seize them off the counter. They’re referred to as burner telephones as a result of you’ll be able to “burn” them (trash them after use), and the cellphone cannot be traced again to you, which makes them interesting to criminals. Burner telephones are usually used while you want a cellphone rapidly, with out intentions of long-term utilization. 

Burners are totally different from getting a daily, contract-bound cellphone plans that require your info to be on file.

Why do you have to use a burner cellphone?

Burner telephones are a straightforward option to keep away from cellphone contracts or spam that you simply get in your main cellphone quantity. Burners aren’t linked to your identification, so you’ll be able to keep away from being tracked down or contacted.

You do not should get rid of a burner cellphone after use. You can add extra minutes and proceed utilizing it. Burner telephones can nonetheless perform as common telephones, minus the trouble of a contract.

You may get a burner cellphone as a secondary cellphone for a selected function, like having a spare cellphone quantity for two-factor authentication texts, for enterprise or to keep away from roaming prices whereas touring. Burner telephones are sometimes utilized by anybody involved with privateness.

Read extra: The Data Privacy Tips Digital Security Experts Wish You Knew

Burner telephones, pay as you go telephones, smartphones and burner SIMs: What’s the distinction?

Burner telephones are low cost telephones with easy designs that lack the bells and whistles of a smartphone. Because they’re designed to be disposable, you solely get the necessities, as seen by the most typical model, the flip cellphone.

All burner telephones are pay as you go telephones, however not all pay as you go telephones are burners. What units a burner aside is that you simply will not have to offer away any private info to get one, and it will not be traceable again to you. Again, a burner cellphone is reasonable sufficient to be destroyed after use.

Prepaid smartphones are usually low-end fashions. You can use any unlocked smartphone with pay as you go SIM playing cards, primarily making it a pay as you go cellphone.

If you desire a burner, you do not essentially have to purchase a brand new cellphone. You can get a burner SIM and use it with an present cellphone. Burner SIMs are pay as you go SIMs you will get and not using a contract or making a gift of private info.

Where can you purchase a burner cellphone?

Burner telephones can be found in any respect main shops, together with Best Buy, Target and Walmart. They’re additionally typically accessible at comfort shops like 7-Eleven, native supermarkets, fuel stations and retail cellphone shops like Cricket and Metro.

You can get a burner cellphone with money, and it ought to value between $10 and $50, although it could value extra should you get extra minutes and knowledge. If you are getting a burner cellphone particularly to keep away from having the cellphone traced again to you, it is sensible to pay with money as a substitute of a bank card.

If you simply desire a pay as you go secondary cellphone, you need to use a bank card. Just understand that bank cards depart a path that leads again to you.

There are additionally many apps that allow you to get secondary cellphone numbers, together with Google Fi and the Burner app. However, these aren’t burners essentially as a result of the suppliers usually have at the very least a few of your private info.

If you are simply trying to get a stable pay as you go cellphone with out anonymity, take a look at our full information for the most effective pay as you go cellphone plans accessible. We even have a information for the most effective low cost cellphone plans.