How to really stay anonymous with untraceable prepaid cell phones

Burner phones are designed to be untraceable, prepaid mobile devices which are inexpensive and readily disposable.  But in a world where everything is deeply interconnected with everything else, are you really staying anonymous with these untraceable prepaid cell phones?

No doubt burner phones are truly intended to be untraceable. But there are some circumstances that lift the veil of anonymity and leave a breadcrumb trail leading right up to you.

When, and why, are supposedly untraceable prepaid cell phones or burner phones not really anonymous? Are there better alternatives? Read on to find out.

Are burner phones really untraceable prepaid cell phones?

Despite how burner phones are depicted in shows like Breaking Bad and Mission: Impossible, burner phones may not actually give you an untraceable phone number, nor serve as an anonymous mobile device.

This is because while the burner phone itself provides a temporary phone number that by itself is difficult to trace and hence acts as an anonymous phone number, how you use the burner phone and how you bought it in the first place also determine whether your burner phone Is a truly untraceable cell phone or just a really cheap backup handset.

How you use the burner phone can leave your supposedly untraceable cell phone completely exposed. If you use the phone periodically and switch it off when you’re not using it, that’s fine.

On the other hand, if you’re using the burner phone regularly and leave it running even when you’re not using it,  it is possible for anyone to trace your anonymous phone number back to you as it gets saved in call logs or located while connected to a cellular network.

If your burner phone can browse the internet and you do so without a VPN, your so-called untraceable cell phone will also be fully traceable.  

How you buy the burner phone also affects whether your untraceable cell phone remains that way. To make sure that you’re really on an untraceable mobile phone, you should buy it with cash and not with a credit or debit card. You should also not have any contract with the vendor you bought the phone from.

Some vendors might not ask you for personal information, but most almost always do not store your personal information with them. But the bigger telcos might, and in some countries it’s mandatory for all cell phone vendors to get personal information with any mobile phone purchase.

Are untraceable prepaid cell phones or burner phone apps better?

The key thing to take not of here is that a burner phone is traceable, but the person using it may not. If you dispose of the phone in a way that it cannot be linked back to you, you remain anonymous and the burner phone fulfils its job as an untraceable prepaid cell phone.

For that reason and many more, it’s easy to see why burner phone apps like Phoner and Burner are better than your standard hard-cased burner phone.

Reason 1: Burner phone apps are better because they provide you with more temporary phone numbers.

Unlike an untraceable cell phone that give you just 1 or 2 temporary phone numbers, a burner phone app can easily give you access to many more untraceable phone numbers you can buy and use immediately and dispose of anytime you want.

When you only have just one other temporary phone number that you use regularly, that number might no longer be an anonymous number.  Ideally, you would want to have multiple anonymous phone numbers you can use across various social situations that you can use and quickly get rid of.

Reason 2: Burner phone apps can be used within the same device as your actual phone number.

With a burner phone, you’ll need to carry along an extra device and possibly have to deal with a second phone bill.  It can get cumbersome and inconvenient.

With a burner phone app however, both your real phone number and your temporary phone number are on the same device.  You get an untraceable phone number without having to get a new phone or new SIM card.

Instead of discarding a burner phone when you’re done with it and possibly leaving behind physical evidence that could connect you to the phone (not to mention contributing to the massive pile of e-waste the world is already struggling to deal with), you can get rid of a temporary phone number on a burner phone app by simply deactivating it.

Reason 3: Burner phone apps are better because they are likelier to be untraceable

Remember how we said how you use the burner phone and how you bought it in the first place influences whether you’re truly using an untraceable cell phone or not?

Burner phone apps have neither of those problems. All you’re getting with burner phone apps are anonymous phone numbers you can freely discard, unlike a physical burner phone. You’re also free to use your smartphone as you would normally while having a burner phone app installed.

Phone anonymously with Phoner

There are many burner phone apps out there today, but not all them offer you unlimited phone numbers around the world you can use immediately without a new SIM or phone like Phoner.

Having a Phoner app is the same as having infinite burner phones. Don’t like any anonymous number you have and want to switch to a new one? Go ahead and do so anytime, anywhere.

No number of untraceable prepaid cell phones can compare to the truly anonymous phone numbers you get with Phoner. Get Phoner now and get unlimited anonymous phone numbers today!