I've been looking at different services and phones but would like some real world advice from the more experienced. Any recommendation for using an extra phone because I rather not communicate with my main phone that is linked and registered to me. Just need something basic. Ty
Google voice provides me with my best solution. The only thing it can't do is send and receive mms on iOS.
I've got it tied to a private email and can log in and out as needed. It has been the best solution so far. I don't have to account for an extra random phone, I'm logged out when it would be inconvenient to answer texts and calls anyways, I can choose my phone number area code, and I can just delete it with no major problems.
That's my recommendation, works on iOS, android, and windows phones I believe.