By Nicole Nguyen

I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to my mom. Sorry for not texting you back sooner -- your lovely message from last week got buried under a lunch receipt, two shipping updates and three verification codes. But now that I have a new burner number, things are turning around.

No, this second line on my iPhone isn't for shady dealings. It's for diverting the junk -- and protecting my digital life.

More companies are asking for our phone number. Need access to airport Wi-Fi? Enter your digits to receive a code. Bought a coffee? The cafe will text you a receipt. Forgot your password? The app can text you a sign-in link.

The result is messages from businesses crowding out friends and family -- on top of the barrage of text spam and scams already flooding us. Brands sent 31% more texts in 2024 compared with the previous year, according to research firm eMarketer.

Getting a second number can help. Virtual calling apps such as Google Voice allow you to spin up new digits in a jiffy, and some carriers offer an additional line for a fee. There are plenty of other privacy-protecting benefits, too. Here's why you should get one, and how to do it.

The benefits of a burner

Your phone number is a valuable piece of data. Businesses target it because texting is so effective. By some estimates, people open 98% of text messages, compared with just 37% of emails.

Plus, we tend to keep our phone number for a long time.

"Our numbers stay with us for our whole lives. They have become proxies for human identity, for better or worse," says Zulfikar Ramzan, chief technology officer of digital security company Point Wild. "Managing that correctly is really important."

Ramzan uses several numbers for different services. He says there are certain companies that you should keep on your main line, such as your financial institutions. "The key question to ask yourself is, 'Do I trust this entity enough that they're not going to sell or share my number?'" he says.

The second consideration, Ramzan says, is whether changing the number would cause a headache. The restaurant where you just ordered pizza? Probably not a big deal. Your kid's school portal that sends authentication codes via SMS? Getting locked out would be consequential, so proceed with your primary number.

Alternatively, you can use an authenticator app, such as Google Authenticator, that generates codes without a text message. It's more secure.

The point of a burner number is that when it becomes oversaturated, you can swap it for a new one.

A secondary line is also useful for interactions that cross the physical-digital divide, he adds. If you are on a dating app, you can withhold your primary phone number until you've established trust with your match. If you are buying a couch on Facebook Marketplace, you can give the seller your throwaway digits.

Another approach is using your second number as your VIP line for nearest and dearest, or a work-life-balance line that you only give out to colleagues.

Adding another line

There are several ways to get another number. For most people, I recommend a virtual calling app. They are more affordable than adding a line through your carrier. They're also easy to mute when you don't need access to the number. Just bear in mind, you'll have to use a second app for burner calls and texts.

Google Voice is free and associated with your Google account. Numbers weren't available for my city of San Francisco, but I could choose one associated with nearby Oakland. You can access Google Voice from a web browser or a mobile app, and change your number once a year. The best setting is the Do Not Disturb button, which instantly sends calls to voicemail. You can also link your Google Calendar to automatically turn on Do Not Disturb outside of your working hours.

The app is great for traveling abroad, too. It allows you to make calls to U.S. numbers free over Wi-Fi, wherever you are.

Burner app (yes, it's called that) can support multiple numbers and has spam-call blocking. One line costs $10 a month, and you can have up to 10 numbers for $25 a month. You can switch numbers, though the app limits the number of changes per billing cycle. There is no web or desktop app, just a mobile app.

It's a little trickier, but you can also get a second number from a carrier. Verizon offers one starting at $10 a month. When you add a secondary line, you can see which line is receiving the call or message, and assign contacts to specific lines. But all the calls and texts will be routed to your main messaging app. You also can't set Do Not Disturb to mute only the second number, though you can turn off the line temporarily in your cellular settings.

You'll definitely want to be able to silence the line. "As soon as you have a phone number, it's not hard for it to get on various lists," Ramzan says.

Next time I get inundated with too many texts, I'll get another burner number -- and maybe even a line just for my mom.

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Write to Nicole Nguyen at nicole.nguyen@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 08, 2025 18:00 ET (23:00 GMT)

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