this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025
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You do not need to give your number anymore to use Signal.
You cannot make a Signal account without phone number so that’s not true.
But we are not obliged to share it with our correspondents.
Unregistered users can't chat, so it needs a number, as OP said.
Yeah I’d rather not share my identity though. Seems like an odd requirement for a “private” messenger
Private ≠ anonymous.
Signal is not anonymous.
Signal is neither of those
Signal is private in that other people can't intercept your messages, including signal. The signal app is open-source so you can be relatively certain it's not tracking your decrypted messages, unlike closed-source apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger or any other private social media.
Signal is not anonymous from an account standpoint, because you need a phone number to sign up, even if you can choose not to display it in your account.
This does nothing to fix the problem.
Unregistered users can't chat, so a number must be divulged to Signal, as OP said.