If you’re traveling across borders, it’s time to look into getting a «burner phone,» particularly when entering the US. That’s because agents of US Customs and Border Protection are being more aggressive about scanning personal devices, according to some reports. Some businesses outside the US are now suggesting their employees use burners to safeguard personal and sensitive information.

But a burner isn’t just for crossing borders. A phone that doesn’t include all of your personal information or has a simpler interface can be quite handy, such as cutting down on unsolicited calls or even avoiding distractions. Comedian Conan O’Brien recently praised his burner as a way to not get bogged down in instant messages and notifications.

Read more: Best Prepaid Phone of 2025

Although carriers have offered prepaid phones since the ’90s, the term «burner phones» or «burners» essentially became popular in the 2000s due to its use in the celebrated HBO series The Wire, in which characters use burner phones to avoid getting caught by the police. Although often portrayed as such, burners are not only popular among criminals. With privacy concerns rising, you might consider using a burner phone yourself.

So, what exactly is a burner phone and how does it work? Below, we explain everything you need to know about burners and how to get one.

What is a burner phone?

Simply put, a burner phone is a cheap prepaid phone with no commitments. It comes with a set number of prepaid call minutes, text messages or data and is designed to be disposed of after use.

Burners are contract-free, and you can grab them off the counter. They’re called burner phones because you can «burn» them, i.e., trash them after use, and the phone cannot be traced back to you, which makes them appealing to criminals. Burner phones are typically used when you need a phone quickly, without intentions of long-term usage. 

Burners are different from getting a regular, contract-bound cellphone plans that require a lot of your information to be on file.

Why should you use a burner phone?

Burner phones are an easy way to avoid pesky cellphone contracts or spam you may be getting on your primary phone number. Burners are not linked to your identity, so you can avoid getting tracked down or contacted if that’s what you need.

However, you don’t have to dispose of it after use — you can just add more minutes and continue using it. Burner phones can still function as regular phones, minus the hassle of getting a phone with a contract.

You can also get a burner phone as a secondary phone for a specific purpose, like having a spare phone number for two-factor authentication texts, for business purposes or to avoid roaming charges while traveling. You can get a burner phone for any privacy reasons you may have.

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

Burner phones, prepaid phones, smartphones and burner SIMs: What’s the difference? 

Burner phones are typically cheap feature phones and usually don’t come with the bells and whistles of a smartphone. Because these are designed to be cheap and disposable, you only get the essentials and very simple designs. The flip phone is a common sight in the burner phone market.

All burner phones are prepaid phones, but not all prepaid phones are burners. What sets a burner apart is that you will not have to give away any personal information to get one and it won’t be traceable back to you. Also, it will be cheap enough to be trashed after use.

Prepaid smartphones are generally low-end models to begin with and burners are the cheapest prepaid phones you can get. However, you can use any unlocked smartphone with prepaid SIM cards if you want to, essentially making it a prepaid phone.

If you want to get a burner, you don’t necessarily have to buy a new phone. You can get a burner SIM and use it with an existing phone as well. Burner SIMs are prepaid SIMs you can get without a contract or giving away personal information.

Where can you buy a burner phone?

Burner phones are available at all the major retail outlets. You can pick them up from Walmart, Target, Best Buy and other big retailers. They’re also often available at convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Rite Aid, local supermarkets, gas stations, and retail phone outlets like Cricket, Metro and others.

You can get a burner phone with cash; a typical burner should cost between $10 and $50. It may cost more if you get more minutes and data with the phone. If you’re getting a burner phone specifically to avoid having the phone traced back to you, it makes sense to pay with cash instead of a credit card.

If you just want a prepaid secondary phone, you can pay for one with a credit card. Credit cards will leave a paper trail that leads back to you but that shouldn’t be an issue unless you really don’t want the burner phone linked back to you.

There are also many apps that let you get secondary phone numbers, including Google Fi and the Burner app. However, these cannot quite be called burners in the ideal sense, because these providers will typically have at least some of your personal information.

If you’re just looking to get a solid prepaid phone without anonymity, you can check out our full guide for the best prepaid phone plans available currently. We also have a guide for the best cheap phone plans you can get.

The smartphone market is in for a big shift for the rest of 2025. The latest Canalys findings show that the global smartphone market increased by 0.2% last quarter. That’s a slight increase, but a drop compared to previous growth numbers. The latest data marks the third consecutive quarter that market growth has slowed. 

«Markets that had shown strong momentum over the past year, such as India, Latin America, and the Middle East, are now experiencing notable declines in Q1 2025, indicating saturation in replacement demand for mass-market products,» said Toby Zhu, principal analyst at Canalys. 

Among the smartphone carriers, Samsung shipped the most — 60.5 million units. Canalys cited the launch of a few of Samsung’s popular models and new A-series prices as reasons for leading growth last quarter.

Canalys pointed out that most Android brands adjusted inventory levels in the first quarter to avoid new product disruptions and to channel pricing of products.

The US smartphone market grew by 12% year over year in the first quarter. Apple drove these results with its iPhone line while being the second-leading carrier globally — selling 55 million units. However, things are expected to change due to the Trump administration’s tariff policy.

«Apple proactively built up inventory ahead of anticipated tariff policies,» said Le Xuan Chiew, research manager at Canalys. «While iPhones produced in Mainland China still account for the majority of US shipments, production in India ramped up toward the end of the quarter, covering standard models of the iPhone 15 and 16 series, alongside accelerating production of the 16 Pro series,» 

Tariffs could change the smartphone market in the US. Chiew already expects the US market to be volatile for the next two to three quarters. Pending what happens with tariffs, Apple may shift production from China to India. 

Tariffs could also lead to limited availability of cheaper models and higher prices, and could bring uncertainty for Android products, too.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote this month on whether to ban some testing labs based in China from approving electronics products meant for import to the US.

The May 22 vote could affect products ranging from smartphones to game consoles to cameras that manufacturers pay to have tested for safety, performances and standards such as radio frequency interference. According to the FCC, 75% of this kind of electronics testing is done out of labs based in China. 

«While the FCC now includes national security checks in our equipment authorization process, we have not had rules on the books that require the test labs conducting those reviews to be trustworthy actors,» wrote Brendan Carr, chair of the FCC, in a post about the vote and other upcoming FCC actions.   

Carr said currently «bad labs» participate in the approval and testing process, a loophole he said the vote would help close.

«The order would adopt a rule that prohibits test labs from participating in the FCC’s equipment authorization process if they are owned, controlled, or directed by entities that pose national security risks,» Carr said.

According to Carr’s post, the FCC is also opening comments for a separate action that would put together a list of what he called «regulated entities that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary.»

The moves could keep more electronics made or tested in China from reaching the US. In 2022, the FCC banned Huawei and ZTE electronics over the same kinds of national security risks. Since then, steep tariffs have been enacted against China in an ongoing trade war with the country.