I know as a responsible hobbist the ideal situation is to use a dedicated "disposable" go phone for hobby activities. That said having a second phone sometimes brings up just as many problems as it solves, and it can sometimes make arranging last minute impulse appointments difficult if you aren't carrying it all the time.

I've been looking at google voice which lets you set up an alias number for the phone, you can leave voice mails, send text and call, all from behind a disposable number.

The downside of course is there is much more easily accessible permanent record. Sure records exist of all the calls,text, voicemails on go phones, but this makes it that much easier to get.

Not a lawyer but as I understand it, if someone wants those records for a go phone they have to get a warrant/subpoena. "Cloud Services" like gmail and google voice don't have to pass that level of proof.

Any other hobbyists or providers use try google voice or something similar and have any experiences to share?

In a lot of ads girls say that they won't accept calls from google voice or untracable numbers.

I can switch the number from one pre-pay to another, as needed.  I can send and receive text messages at my computer.  I can block certain phone numbers or set up custom messages based on number.

For example, if a girl I have seen before calls, she gets my normal voice saying leave a message.  If my wife calls she here's a "the number you have dialed is out of service" message.  That sort of thing.

Cons are that if LE gets a warrant for your number they might get a little more info then they would get from the phone company on a normal phone.  But, realistically, unless you are a mobster running numbers, LE isn't going after a warrant for your phone.

Some girls say they don't take calles from blocked numbers, but GV numbers aren't blocked.  They have absolutely no way of knowing if you are on GV or any other phone service.  Their caller ID shows a number, just like it does for most every call.

I've been using GV for hobbying since before Google acquired it, and I've never had a problem.

Thanx for the info.. I set up a google voice account a couple weeks ago.