I value my own privacy. I also don’t really appreciate snooping and people stealing my data or work looking at/requesting messages. I don’t have anything special to hide, but even if I did I wouldn’t want anyone requesting the data at random.
Enter burner.
From the Depths of Reddit I Present Untracable
You want to know how to make them untraceable? (Well, super-not-likely-ever at least): 1) Walk to a raunchy gas station and pay a smoker you don’t know $5 to get you a prepaid card. Avoid cameras, avoid a gas station you commonly go to. If they ask questions instead of just doing it after a little chit chat, move on to another mark. 2) Grab a WiFi enabled device with no cellular that doesn’t have any information on it. Just wipe an old phone or whatever. Props if you buy a separate hard drive for a laptop to do it. 3) Head to a McDonalds or likewise store with limited or no cameras outside but decent connectivity. Just sit outside and smoke or enjoy the sunshine. Peak hours obscure traffic slightly better. Use that prepaid to get a VPN and bitcoins. 4) Go to the darknet (hundreds of guides online) and get a burner phone prepaid with minutes. Limited GPS capability, no camera (You can break it if it’s comes with one. Not hard) You can buy whatever else there too. Do not use an online name you have on the surface web, a password you had before, or any other information that reveals yourself. 5) Have it sent to an abandoned house or likewise address not connected to you. Easy way to check if they receive mail still is to send a fake hospital bill (rehab). Super available online. 6) When you receive the phone, reset it to factory defaults and ensure the SIM card is what the seller detailed. Be cautious, it’s best to buy very basic phones so you can tell if it’s been tampered. 7)Phone address book in a safe place when you switch phones. Don’t save numbers, don’t save texts, don’t take long calls. No calls if your situation allows. Never use names. Disable all extra features. Don’t use WiFi on that phone. 8) Be a decent dirtbag and wipe the phone, then smash and burn it. Dump it off in a construction site dumpster mostly likely at twilight hours (when people are most likely not to be there.) Switching phones monthly seems to work ok. Your situation may differ.
Need for a burner
I don’t even have a realistic need for a burner. I really just need a second phone for other work to keep everything separated. I also like to have backups and plans for when things go south, thus the need for a second phone.
Enter Nokia 2.2. The nokia 2.2 is a decent little phone. I won’t get into specs but it has all I really want/need for a secondary phone.