2nd Line - Second Phone Number

A second number solves two different problems, and it is worth being clear about which one you have. The first is privacy. Your main number is attached to your bank, your online accounts and your address, so handing it to a marketplace buyer, a dating match or a recruiter you have just met carries a risk that has nothing to do with phones. A second number takes those contacts instead, and can be abandoned if it attracts nuisance calls. The second problem is separation. Running work and personal life through one number means every call is a small guess about which mode you should answer in. With a second line you know before picking up whether this is work, which changes how you answer and whether you answer at all outside working hours. Calls and texts both work on the number, using wi-fi or mobile data rather than your carrier's minutes, so it also functions as a way of calling without using your plan. Numbers are local, which matters for being answered: people ignore unfamiliar area codes. Verification codes for online services can be sent to it, keeping your main number off yet another database. All of it works on one phone with no second SIM.