First let’s take a closer look at what the privacy settlement really means for Facebook users and our privacy in the future. 

What is the Facebook Privacy Settlement?

Starting back in 2018 with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook (which is now officially known as Meta) was allowing third party apps to collect data on registered users and their friends without informed consent. The data was used for targeted political ads and other purposes that were unethical—or at the very least, questionable.

A few years later Facebook found itself a lawsuit examining how they handle user data. The result, one of the largest data privacy payouts in USA history, was a whopping $725 million settlement. It remains a touchstone moment for any individual who is concerned about their personal information and how it’s used online. 

Who Wins?

If you used Facebook in the U.S. between May 2007 and Dec 2022, you were likely eligible for a payout. No need to go digging for proof that your data was misused. All you need to have is evidence that you existed on the platform within the aforementioned period. 

To snag your share of the payout, you had to submit your claim form by August 2023. At this point your award could range from a few dollars to slightly more. This depends on the length of time you used Facebook and the number of people who also submitted claims to the lawsuit. 

Is There a Catch?

Aside from the lack of windfall to come with this kind of a “win” (truly don’t count on coming into a fortune here), this settlement is mostly just a win for accountability. Facebook/Meta isn’t admitting to wrongdoing and is resolving the case without liability, which is typical of many large scale corporate settlements. 

Know that, despite a $725 million price tag on this issue, user privacy on Facebook and other online platforms is, and will continue to be, a significant issue. These services collect massive amounts of personal data, which is valuable to them in a number of ways. Ultimately, users need to take their data ownership seriously and take steps to protect themselves. 

If you can’t quite cut ties with these social media platforms, consider using a Dialappify second phone number to sign up. It’s an easy but powerful way to ensure your contact information stays safe. Remember that this revelation should be a wakeup call for anyone online: once your data is available to one company, there’s no telling where else it will go. 

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Here’s how to set-up a Finsta to use Instagram under the radar:

1. Username

The first trick to staying anonymous with a Finsta is to choose a username that doesn’t provide any clues about who you are. Avoid the obvious: your name, birthday, hometown, or anything that can be traced back to the real you. Since this will be your “just for fun” account, have fun with it—set it to something totally random, like a fictional character. When it comes to a Finsta handle, the more obscure, the better!

2. Email

Create a second email to keep your Finsta truly separate from your personal accounts. A free service like Gmail is perfect for a secondary email that will be completely detached from your real life identity.

3. Phone Number

When setting up your Finsta account, avoid using your real, personal phone number. Instead, use a temporary or throwaway Dialappify number. For just a few dollars, with a Dialappify online number, you can verify your Finsta without any trace to your private information.

4. Privacy Settings

Ensure your Finsta is set to private so that no one can view your posts or stories without you vetting the first. Here’s how:

• On your Finsta profile, tap the three-line “hamburger” menu in the top-right corner
• Select Settings > Privacy
• Toggle on Private Account

5. Followers

Keep a tight hold on who you allow to follow your Finsta. Stick with close friends and only people you know and trust completely. If this will be your space to post freely, you don’t want to risk it being seen by anyone who might judge you or share your content without permission.

6. Links

Do not link your Finsta in any way to your regular account. Avoid tagging or mentioning it in your bio. When you’re scrolling, double check what account you are signed into so that you don’t accidentally like or comment on anyone’s posts from your Finsta thinking it’s in the voice of your main brand identity. To stay anonymous, be vigilant about keeping the two accounts completely disconnected.

7. Tags

To keep control over what appears and who gets to see it, carefully review anytime your Finsta is tagged in someone else’s post or story so that people inside your circle or from whom you want to remain anonymous cannot connect it back to you. Here’s how:

• Settings > Privacy > Tags
• Toggle on “Manually Approve Tags”

8. Third Party Apps

Regardless of what type of account you’re using, you should always carefully review the terms of any third-party apps before granting them access to your account. To ensure that no third-party apps that link to Instagram can expose your Finsta details, be extra mindful about which apps you allow to have access, and regularly double check which apps have permission settings that allow them access. Keeping a little extra aware of how you use your Finsta will help to make sure nothing slips through that could reveal your true identity.

The post What is a Finsta and Why Would you Want One? appeared first on Dialappify | Secure second and temporary phone number app.

Here’s a communication apps comparison, including what they offer and some of their drawbacks. 

WhatsApp 

• Compatibility: WhatsApp works on both iOS and Android devices, as well as on desktop through WhatsApp Web.
• Group Chats and Calls: You can create groups for chatting and making voice/video calls with multiple people.
• Status Updates: Similar to Instagram Stories, you can share temporary status updates with your contacts.
• Multimedia Sharing: Share photos, videos, documents, and voice messages easily.

• Dependent on Phone Number: You need to share your phone number to sign up and use WhatsApp.
• Limited Customization: Compared to other apps, WhatsApp offers fewer options for customizing your chat experience.

Facebook Messenger

• Integration with Facebook: Connects with your Facebook friends and profile.
• Multimedia: Share photos, videos, GIFs, and more.
• Interactive Features: Includes games, polls, and reactions within chats.
• Compatibility: Available on iOS, Android, and desktop.

• Privacy Concerns: As part of Meta, you might have concerns about data privacy and security.
• Requires Facebook Account: To use Messenger, you need to have a Facebook account.

iMessage

• End-to-End Encryption: Ensures that your messages are secure and private.
• Multimedia: Send photos, videos, documents, and even payments via Apple Pay.
• Effects: Add fun effects, stickers, and emojis to your messages.
• Integration: Works with other Apple services like Siri, iCloud, and more.
• SMS Fall-back: If the recipient doesn’t have iMessage, your message can be sent as a standard SMS.

• Apple-Only: Only available on Apple devices, limiting its use to those within the Apple ecosystem.
• Data Usage: Rich media and effects can consume significant data.

FaceTime

• Group Calls: Supports your group video calls from your Apple device.
• Integration: Works smoothly with other Apple services and devices.
• Security: Your calls are encrypted, ensuring privacy.

• Apple-Only: Only available to users with Apple devices.
• Internet Dependent: Requires a stable internet connection for optimal performance.

Dialappify

• Cross-Platform Integration: Dialappify is functional on any device that can download the app, including iOS, Android, or your computer.
• Connect with Any Number: Can call any number, landline, mobile, business, personal. 
• Non Dialappify Users: No need to only contact other Dialappify users. Connect you to anyone with a phone number, online or otherwise. 
• No Additional App Downloads: Text like you would on your device’s regular texting app without the need to install and sign up for additional third party apps. 
• Privacy: Protect your personal number by only using your safe, secure, online Dialappify number.
• Anonymity: Nothing is connected to your regular phone number, or shows up on a phone bill.
• Call Forwarding: Forward your Dialappify number to another phone number, so you can answer Dialappify calls without needing Wi-Fi or data.
• Call Routing: If you don’t have Wi-Fi or data, you can route outgoing Dialappify calls to your regular mobile number while keeping your number concealed.
• Custom Voicemail: With a free voicemail plan you can record a custom greeting. 
• Auto Reply: Automatically respond to any text message sent to your Dialappify number. You can set rules and responses for every situation.
• Unlimited: Manage as many multiples of private Dialappify numbers as you’d like. 
• Organized: Load existing contacts from your device into Dialappify, or create private contacts that are only accessible within your Dialappify account.

The key to finding the best app lies in understanding your own requirements and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each option in this communication apps comparison.

The post Communication Apps Comparison: Which One Suits You Best? appeared first on Dialappify | Secure second and temporary phone number app.

You know that moment when you’ve got something bouncing around your head that you can’t remember and it’s driving you crazy? Then you only have to type or speak that something into your smartphone and voila, that single line from a song that’s been hiding in the shadows finally emerges into the light of day (or the glow of your LED screen).

And this might be the best part: you get to hold out the search results to your friend as a way to prove to him that you were right: it WAS the Golden Girls TV theme song, NOT the Facts of Life! For some of us, the Internet is the ideal vehicle to fuel these small victories.

Buying & Selling

But putting aside the glories of finding out something new, another great aspect of the Internet is its ability to find people who have things you never knew you needed. Craigslist is one such gathering place where you might have a shot at getting that rare peacock feather that will transform your life, a costume replica of an Ewok, or how about a lampshade in the form of a badminton birdie?

Of course, a majority of these online connections also require a connection in the real world, namely a telephone number you can call to find out where you can pick up your latest treasure.

But, if you’re like most buyers and sellers, you still want to protect your personal information. So, rather than give your real number to someone you don’t know very well, the Dialappify burner number app gives you a number you can use one-time, just for that purpose.

One-Time Use

These one-time phone numbers work exactly how any number works: you can make calls, receive calls, and send one-time texts from them. And you can do it all from your existing smartphone. Here’s the difference: when someone calls or sends a message to your temporary number, it will ring on your smartphone, but you’ll answer it through Dialappify.

This way your real number is kept private.

The other bonus for sellers is that with Dialappify you can get as many one-time numbers as you want. So, let’s say you’re selling a bunch of things on Craigslist. You can attach a different number to each item. This can help you line up potential buyers with the specific item he or she is after, and help reduce confusion sorting out who is calling for what.

Disconnect Your One-Time Number at Any Time

There is a final key aspect of Dialappify that can help you whether you’re a buyer or seller: you can delete your one-time number whenever you want. This includes one-time SMS.

For instance, say you met with a buyer or seller and for whatever reason, it didn’t go well. The buyer was an overly aggressive negotiator, the seller misrepresented himself, or maybe you just plain didn’t get along. No worries. With Dialappify you can delete your one-time phone number immediately, and cut off communication with that person, avoiding any future static.

One of the best things about the Internet is that it gives everyone a platform to connect with other people. As with any new online connections, however, it’s impossible to figure out how close the person you’re about to meet is to their online profile. Sometimes it’s a close match. Other times…

Dialappify can cover this uncertainty by giving you a layer of privacy before you meet someone for the first time, such as when you’re a buyer or a seller on Craigslist.

Are you hoping to get rid of a bike to clear room for a new one? Or maybe looking for a new bike to buy this summer?

Set yourself up with one-time numbers through Dialappify and buy and sell with more peace of mind.

The post Gear Up for Buying & Selling with a One-Time Phone Number appeared first on Dialappify | Secure second and temporary phone number app.

But when it comes to disposable phones, disposable numbers and prepaid phones: it’s easy to get tripped up between what means what. So, let us be your handy guide.

Prepaid Phones

As the name suggests, prepaid phones are paid for up front, meaning they are not attached to a contract with a phone provider. Traditionally these are physical phones that carry a certain number of minutes that someone can buy from a store.

As a reference point, prepaid phones were made popular from the HBO series The Wire. Check out our earlier post on that very topic.

Now here’s where the expressions get mixed up. Since these physical, prepaid phones have limited minutes, people would literally toss them when they ran out, and buy another. As a result, these prepaid phones are sometimes also called disposable phones.

Confused yet? Stick with us – we’ll iron out the expressions some more.

Disposable Phones

As we said, this expression is sometimes used interchangeably with prepaid phones. However, nowadays the expression has also evolved into “disposable phone number” because this describes phone numbers you can get on your smartphone through the Dialappify Burner Number App.

Dialappify gives you access to phone numbers separate from your real phone number and allows you to get rid of them whenever you want. Hence, people often refer to these “extra” phone numbers as disposable numbers.

But here’s the difference: with Dialappify you’re not actually disposing of your physical phone as you would with a prepaid phone (that would be $$$$), but disposing of a phone number you’ve accessed through our phone app.

With us so far?

Ok. This leads to the next question.

Why Use a Disposable Phone Number?

One of the main reasons is simplicity. You no longer have to buy a physical, prepaid phone to have a disposable phone number. Instead, Dialappify gives you a super easy way to tap into a disposable number from your smartphone.

And there are plenty of ways people are using them.

Some people like to have a disposable phone number as a layer of security between themselves and someone they might not know very well. For example, people might get a disposable number when they’re dating. In the event things don’t go well on a date, it’s easy to ditch a disposable number and cut off communication with that person.

Also, people might get disposable numbers to use as a buyer or seller on Craigslist or also when filling out online profiles, making sure that in each case they’ve kept their real phone number out of these transactions.

People are also using disposable numbers for business.

Dialappify makes it easy to have as many numbers as you want at one time. So, some people find it useful to separate out different numbers for different people with whom they do business or even for different regions where they might be travelling on business. See our earlier post.

We hope we’ve helped clear up some confusion between prepaid phones and disposable phones. Now that things might be making more sense we encourage you to try out Dialappify for yourself and see how it can come in handy in your life.

A marmot? Probably not as handy, but we’ll leave that between you and Google.

The post What’s a Prepaid Phone? A Disposable Phone? A Marmot? We Can Explain 2 Out of The 3 appeared first on Dialappify | Secure second and temporary phone number app.

Roaming and International Rates

Another area that can often prove frustrating is communication. You’ve got a phone you use for business, but now in a different country or district, you’ve got limited options. One is to accept roaming charges, which, if you haven’t already got a monthly car payment, is a sure-fire way to invest in another version.

Or, if you’re traveling abroad, you can arrange a deal on international rates with your phone provider, which all hinges on where you’re traveling, how long you’ll be there, and, most importantly, whether you have a whiteboard to scribble out the physics equation that often results from this option’s complex details.

SIM Swap

What’s next? You could swap out your SIM card with one from the country you’re visiting. But wait: is your phone locked? Then this option is out. But let’s say your phone is unlocked. Now all you have to do is find a mobile phone store that sells SIM cards after you arrive. But your meeting is in 2 hours and even after a quick stop at your hotel/Airbnb, there’s no way you’ll have enough time…

Ok, you get the point. The Dialappify second number app, however, can help relieve some of these headaches.

Different Number on the Same Phone

Our second number app gives you a disposable phone number for the country or district you’re visiting. This means you don’t have to bother with your phone provider back home.

It also means you can activate a disposable number immediately (available in over 40 countries), which saves you from doing a SIM swap once you arrive at your destination.

Same Area Code

The other bonus is that your 2nd phone number will be a number from the area where you’re doing business. So let’s say you’re travelling from New York to San Francisco, your temporary number with a Dialappify second number app will be a San Francisco number, which you’ll access from the same phone that you normally use in New York.

Not only can this reduce confusion with San Franciscans who might call you or send you a text on a temporary SMS number when you’re in San Francisco, but it also gives you the chance to separate your San Francisco trip by having a 2nd number while keeping your real phone number exclusive to your personal life.

It’s a straightforward way to make sure you can communicate seamlessly from the time you touch down in a new place to the time you return home.

More Flexibility

Sometimes too, as a small business owner, you’re not sure when you’ll be travelling that far in advance. The Dialappify second number app gives you the flexibility to organize a 2nd number, that includes a temporary SMS, on your own time. This helps free you up to focus on other things like your business.

Plus, there’s another little bonus that goes along with this. You get to enjoy your own music rather than having to listen to whatever is playing on hold while you’re waiting to talk travelling rates with your phone provider.

Ok, that’s a trivial point. But sometimes little details like that can add up, making your life easier, however minor it may seem.

Are you about to head out on a business trip?

Try out the Dialappify second number app for yourself and see how a temporary number could help make your next business trip a little bit smoother.

The post Make Business Travel Less Turbulent with a 2nd Phone Number appeared first on Dialappify | Secure second and temporary phone number app.

A few years ago you would hear that question all the time. There was a good reason. The TV show drew you into a world of memorable characters like McNulty, Stringer Bell, Bubbles and pretty much everyone’s favourite Omar Little (including President Obama’s fav).

But aside from its characters and their string of catchphrases, the show also popularized the burner phone. These were unlocked, prepaid cellphones that could be paid for in cash, which meant a user could make calls without being traced to that phone. Once the minutes were up, you tossed it and got another.

In The Wire, drug dealers were using burner phones to stay a step ahead of the cops. As a viewer, it was easy to understand why this technology could be a benefit.

Now a few years later, however, it’s also become clear that having a burner phone number isn’t only for D’Angelo Barskdale.

Why Would You Get a Burner Phone Number?

Ask yourself: have you ever worried about someone having your private phone number? Then it’s fair to say you already see the benefit of having your own burner phone number.

The other handy thing is that, unlike characters from The Wire, today you no longer have to buy a prepaid phone and toss it away once it runs out of minutes.

Now you can skip the corner store and go to the app store where you can download the Dialappify burner phone app to get a burner phone number on your smartphone. Dialappify gives you a disposable, temporary phone number that can mask your phone’s real caller ID when calling or texting.

A burner phone number gives you the benefit of a second identity and, in some cases, even more. For instance, you can separate your business life, dating life or travelling life from each other all with different phone numbers.

And you can control when you cut off a particular identity simply by choosing when you’d like to dispose of your identity’s burner phone number.

Temporary Number and Texting

The other bonus that the Dialappify burner phone app has over The Wire’s burner phones is that it lets you call or text from a different number. Granted texting hadn’t taken off yet back in 2002 when The Wire came out. And let’s be honest, even if texting was around back then, if you’re a drug dealer, it’s probably not the smartest move to write down what you’re talking about.

But fast-forward to 2016 and you’re probably spending the majority of your time communicating with people through text. Having a burner number app gives you a temporary number for texting and calling that you can use at any time and dispose of at any time.

It’s been 14 years since The Wire first aired and obviously a lot has changed since then; not least is that today you’re more likely to be asked: “Do you watch Game of Thrones?”

But more than that, burner phones themselves have changed.

Disposable Phone Numbers for Everyone

Once seen mainly as a benefit of underground networks that characters from The Wire or even Jason Bourne moved in, free phone number apps are becoming increasingly invaluable to everyday people who want a temporary phone number or disposable phone number to manage the many aspects of their busy lives.

Clearly, then a lot of people are answering the question of whether they find a temporary phone number app helpful. Dialappify has 3.5 million downloads already and counting.

As for The Wire, it’s harder to pinpoint an exact sales number, but since its burner phones have been around a lot longer, it’s probably safe to say it’s doing fine.

Indeed.

The post From Burner Phone Numbers on The Wire to a Wireless Burner Phone App appeared first on Dialappify | Secure second and temporary phone number app.

In an era of social networking sites and online communities, it’s vital to protect your identity and secure your privacy from other users you don’t know or have never event met. Even when you’re meeting new people at a community meet-up, while traveling on vacation, or mingling at a nightclub or local bar—you may be intrigued by some of the other guests you’ve just met, but still hesitant in giving your mobile number to them. The solution? A private, disposable number.

Today, a vast of majority of friendships, personal relationships, and business relationships are formed through the internet; either through dating sites, social media, or  networking sites. According to survey results published in the Los Angeles Times by Manta, an online forum for small-business owners, 90% of respondents spend their time building professional relationships and networking online and that 78% of them believe that social media is equally important to offline networking, too.

The goal of the Dialappify app is to encourage users to continue the conversation on a more personal level, without compromising their security and privacy.

People need to be in control of the calls and text messages they receive, and a private number from Dialappify app enables the user to do just that. Dialappify makes sure that you have the option of deleting the specific number or extending it to push the expiration date further into the future. You can also add credit to get more more calling minutes/texts. Plus, if you need a long-term secondary number, you can select an Unlimited Plan subscription!

The Dialappify app is now available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Download the app today to get your Free 3 Day Trial Number, and discover the different Dialappify makes!

About AffinityClick Inc.

AffinityClick Inc. is a mobile and web marketing solutions company based in Ottawa, Canada.

The post Why Download the Dialappify App? appeared first on Dialappify | Secure second and temporary phone number app.