Google Voice

[Yorick]

Any of you guys use google voice in lieu of a burner phone?

How's that work?  Do calls get charged to your cellphone plan?  How does it show on the bill?

[Audrey Astor]

It's VOIP, so no the calls do not go on your plan, but rather use your data/internet.

[Cali Rose]

TextMe or TextNow, Sideline, and Burner are good options. Burner requires $3.99 a month though but the other ones are free. Only thing I didn't like about Sideline is that all the voicemails went to my regular phones voicemail. Like Audrey said they use your data. 

Edited July 25, 2017 by Cali Rose

[Yorick]

Perfect.

Thanks ladies.  Soooooo much untapped knowledge around here!

[Toddzilla]

I use google voice and it uses your data. Your bill shows up with random google numbers when you make a call. On the down side, if your appointment is a two call set up you run the risk of not having a good data connection and not being able to make the second call. Then, you either have to drive to an area with a good cell connection or dial with you cell. 

[CountryGentleman]

I use it.   It doesn't seem to be using my data, but I do have trouble receiving calls.  I set my account so that all calls go to voicemail until I know someone is going to call.  Then I allow that person's call to be routed to my physical phone.   Sometimes, it doesn't seem to get the settings right and the lady who is calling still gets my voicemail.  I may be doing something wrong, but this method keeps me from getting an unexpected call an an inopportune time.  

The other downside is that my Google Voice phone number shows up on the bill each time I use it.  So sometimes there's a lot of calls to that number.  Good thing my SO doesn't check the bill...

[pfunk]

I've never used anything but my regular phone. No problems since I started in the 80s, knock on wood! 

[NoCoGeezer]

Re: Google Voice and data vs minutes on cell phones: depends on how setup and if doing calls vs text. But, basically, calls are minutes unless using some other app to make calls through Google Voice number.

One other app is TextFree. Really good for texting, but many times has terrible quality phone calls (used that for voice with two providers recently, and both had terrible time hearing me, echoes, etc). Burner works much better for voice.

[daaacz]

I use it. It's flaky, but it's free. I'm an infrequent hobbyist, so it meets my needs. If I did it more, I would get a burner. If you use GV and you want to keep it private, don't use the app on your phone. It integrates directly with your Google account. I use a private browser (Frost) on my Android and use the GV web interface through there. It uses my data to access the GV web site (i.e. texts & call history) and uses my minutes on phone calls (they always show up as coming from Washington DC). Like I said, it's flaky as hell, but doing it this way leaves no trace which, to me, is the most important part.

Edited August 1, 2017 by daaacz
Detail on phone calls

[SabrinaLynn aka KatieCreme]

On 7/24/2017 at 8:06 PM, Cali Rose said:

TextMe or TextNow, Sideline, and Burner are good options. Burner requires $3.99 a month though but the other ones are free. Only thing I didn't like about Sideline is that all the voicemails went to my regular phones voicemail. Like Audrey said they use your data. 

But the voicemail's show the sideline number, so you know its a business call!

[SabrinaLynn aka KatieCreme]

So far I can say Sideline has been the best! If you are in a place where you cant answer your phone at the moment, or don't want anyone calling at a certain time you can easily delete the app from your phone. If your in a safe place and ready to have some fun, just download the app again and sign in and all your missed information pops up!