Technologies

US Border Agents Can Snoop Your Smartphone. Keep Your Info Private with a Burner Phone

Think you might need to get and use a burner? Here’s what to know.

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.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for May 3, #1414

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,414 for May 3.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle answer is a word that seems to have slipped out of favor. It’ll be interesting to see if it stumps a lot of players. It’s also a first name that isn’t very popular as that anymore, either. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There is one vowel in today’s Wordle answer, and one sometimes vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter P.

Wordle hint No. 4: Name game

Today’s Wordle answer used to be a popular girl’s name, but it’s not used that much anymore.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to someone who’s easily taken advantage of.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is PATSY.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, May 2, No. 1413 was WHOSE.

Recent Wordle answers

April 28, No. 1409: DUMMY

April 29, No. 1410: BLISS

April 30, No. 1411: IDLER

May 1, No. 1412: ADEPT

Technologies

How to Get a Free Fortnite Star Wars Skin and 4 Other Outfits Now

Fortnite has several promotions running simultaneously, letting you get your hands on multiple free skins right now.

Fortnite is once again brewing up crossovers with a galaxy from far, far away — and luckily for you, that means there are free skins up for grabs. The First Order Stormtrooper skin is available for free right now when you connect your Epic Games and MyDisney accounts.

If a stormtrooper skin from the Star Wars sequel trilogy era isn’t quite your style, there are other non-Star Wars skins that you can earn for free, whether you’re completing tasks in-game or redeeming promotional offers. Two more free skins are unlocked by linking your Epic Games and Lego accounts.

Other skins are available through quests — in-game tasks that unlock new items across the different Fortnite modes. The Trailblazer Tai skin is unlocked for free through Lego Fortnite quests, while the limited-time Vanguard Zadie skin is available through an account-level quest.

Here are all of the current free Fortnite skins and how to unlock them.

Free Fortnite skins in May 2025

These are the current free skins available through crossover promotions, account activations and in-game quests.

First Order Stormtrooper

Unlocking the First Order Stormtrooper skin requires you to have an eligible MyDisney account, used to log into Disney’s empire of streaming services like Disney Plus and Hulu, to which you’ll need to connect your Epic Games account in order to earn this skin. In order to do so, navigate to the Apps and Accounts page of your Epic Games account and click «connect» on the MyDisney option. This will take you to the MyDisney webpage to complete the process and bind the accounts. You will have the First Order Stormtrooper skin upon your next Fortnite login.

By watching the first two episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld on a special Fortnite island (the code is 2124-6713-8076) you can also earn a free Asajj Ventress loading screen.

Mr. Dappermint and Explorer Emilie

Unlocking the Mr. Dappermint and Explorer Emilie skins requires you to have an eligible Lego account, as you need to connect one to your Epic Games account in order to earn these skins. In order to do so, navigate to the Apps and Accounts page of your Epic Games account and click «connect» on the Lego option. This will take you to the Lego webpage to complete the process and bind the accounts. You will have the Mr. Dappermint and Explorer Emilie skins upon your next Fortnite login.

Trailblazer Tai

In order to start Trailblazer Tai’s quest, players must check the Lego Fortnite store. A free quest will be available at the bottom of the store — claiming this quest allows players to complete challenges to unlock the Trailblazer Tai skin. There is no time limit to complete Trailblazer Tai’s Lego Fortnite quest.

Vanguard Zadie

Available as part of a limited-time quest, players can earn the Vanguard Zadie skin by earning 50 Fortnite account levels by June 7. Account levels earned prior to the launch of this quest do not count toward unlocking the Vanguard Zadie skin. The Vanguard Zadie quest also rewards players with a new pickaxe and back bling.

Technologies

Apple Is Moving US iPhone Assembly to India Amid Tariff Turmoil

Apple CEO Tim Cook also said Vietnam will manufacture almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods products sold in the US.

Apple will be sourcing almost its entire line of iPhones sold in the US — about 60 million phones a year — from assembly facilities in India, CEO Tim Cook said Thursday. The planned move comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration imposing tariffs against China of up to 145%.

The tech giant is predicting a $900 million impact to Apple’s costs this coming quarter if tariff policies, rates and applications stay as they are right now.

«For the June quarter, we do expect the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin,» Cook said during Apple’s Q1 earnings call on May 1, «and Vietnam to be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods products sold in the US.»

It comes as some products such as mobile phones and computers have been exempted from those tariffs for the time being. Apple has long centered its iPhone production in China, making it vulnerable to any trade war between the two countries and spurring speculation that tariffs could mean price increases for the company’s biggest-selling product.

By moving third-party assembly of US iPhones to India, Apple could avoid the most significant cost pressure of a trade war, though India itself faces new tariffs as well.

The company had already begun shipping iPhones made in India, adding to its product reserves, before new tariffs became active.

A global perspective on iPhones and tariffs

While it’s unclear how long the trade war with China will continue, Apple’s shift is part of a larger strategy that may include more US component manufacturing, says Angelo Zino, a senior vice president at CFRA Research.

«Apple must think long term with manufacturing capacity,» Zino said. «We think Apple will look to double its India iPhone capacity in the next two to three years to help mitigate future China-US tensions.»

That said, Zino expects Apple to keep a large China presence, as 15% of its sales will be in that country and global capacity of iPhone manufacturing will still rely on Chinese manufacturing. Cook confirmed that China will «continue to be the country of origin for the vast majority of total product sales outside the US.»

While Apple wouldn’t shift iPhone production entirely to the US, which would be cost-prohibitive, Zino said, it could potentially ramp up modem and internally designed processors with Taiwan Semiconductor in the US.

«That is clearly where the value of Apple lies for the Trump administration, in our view, rather than assembling its devices,» Zino said.

Will Apple’s manufacturing shift to India last?

Muzammil Hassan, head of patent portfolio management and monetization in India for Quandary Peak Research, noted that Apple’s shift to more manufacturing in India was already happening before tariffs were enacted.

«I don’t think it’s a temporary move,» Hassan said. «Foxconn has been training thousands of employees in their factories in Tamil Nadu. In fact, there were reports that iPhone 17 might be developed and manufactured exclusively in India.»

While shifting all US iPhone production to India may be bold, Hassan said, Apple is not pioneering with its manufacturing strategy. «I’d say Apple is late to the party. Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Motorola among others were already manufacturing their phones in India.»

In addition, Google may be migrating production of its Pixel phone to India from Vietnam, he said.