How to Set Up and Use a Burner Phone

"Authorities around the world can use your cell phone to track your location and potentially access other sensitive private information about you. One possible protection from this data collection is a burner phone. As invasive state surveillance ramps up globally-including new initiatives in the United States to monitor travelers, protesters, and vulnerable populations -privacy tools that were formerly the domain of digital hermits and people involved in organized crime are now more and more appealing to everyone."

"Burner phones, which are often "dumb" flip phones, can be loaded with prepaid minutes and offer anonymity when rotated frequently, purchased with cash, and siloed from any connections to you or your digital life. The idea is that cops, or other actors, are unlikely to be tracking a fresh burner phone in real time. But the crucial additional layer of protection that properly used burner phones offer is that even if they are-or they later tie communications"

State and other actors can track cell phones and access sensitive personal data. Burner phones—simple prepaid devices—provide anonymity when purchased with cash, rotated often, and kept separate from personal digital accounts. Properly used burners prevent digital links that identify the user even if communications from the device are tied to an investigation. Burners serve specific, time-limited purposes and are discarded after use. Effective anonymity requires money, time, and operational security knowledge. Risk assessment and strict practices like device isolation, payment privacy, and limited usage improve protection for mobile communications.

Read at WIRED