Burner, the app from California-based Ad Hoc Labs, In. that lets mobile users create disposable U.S. phone numbers, is now available in Australia.

Burner, available for iOS and Android, lets users create as many U.S. phone numbers as they need for calls, SMS and also MMS communication. The company touts its app as “fast, safe and private.” Users can keep “burner” numbers indefinitely or “burn” the numbers when they are no longer needed.

On the company website, Burner is described as:

“Burner is your “other” number – a smart privacy layer for the smartphone era, giving users the power to take control of their communications and personal data.”

It’s important for Australian users to note that the numbers provided by Burner are still U.S. numbers and not Australian. It is still a handy service to use for signing up for U.S.-only services where a local number is required or if you need a local number when travelling to the U.S. and don’t want to get a U.S. carrier SIM.

It’s not hard to fathom why it’s not just criminals and spies who need “burner” phones from time to time. As the company’s website notes, a burner number can be used for work, if you don’t want to hand out your personal number to clients, in a social setting where you’ve just met a new person, but you’re not quite ready for them to have phone number or for those pesky sign-up forms, both online and offline.

There is a handy Chrome extension for Burner that lets users add their burner number to online forms.

As recently as November, Burner was one of the top three grossing apps in the “Utilities” category on the App Store and one of the top 15 apps in the “Communications” category on Google Play.

Burner is a free app and while basic use is free, users will need to purchase credit packs if they want more than one number or make and receive more than a few calls.

Images via burnerapp.com