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Signal is working on registration without a phone number. But what form will it take?
(aboutsignal.com)
and still no app for Android tablets ffs
this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2026
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GitHub commit d7447b1 states that “accounts without phone numbers can never get phone numbers, and accounts with them can never lose them”.
So you’ll have to register a new account if you want to decouple your number.
didn’t they announce this like five years ago
At this point, if it’s on a phone app, it probably doesn’t matter. They have your number.
No, apps (at least on Android) require a specific permission to read your phone number. The phone capabilities of Signal go through their own VoIP service, not your phone.
It's not entirely dystopian (just barely), we have newer messengers like SimpleX and DeltaChat (I/we use Delta) on the up and coming which deliver on all the same e2ee promises as Signal. It's just network effects as usual, getting people to try is the real hurdle.
What they share in common (mostly) is the architecture - they're built natively decentralized, utilizing caching relays with no single source of truth, or device of truth, to be used to create a profile of you like a phone number does. Encryption keys owned by the user and no single servers. Generally this is the Nostr design as well, so we have 3 different teams all focusing on the same natively decentralized architecture patterns.
Simplex is a dog though compared to Signal.
I haven't tried SimpleX yet, as they can't share the same profile to multiple devices (it's explained in detail in the FAQ) which makes it a normie usability deal killer. I've heard it has really bad battery life on mobile too, but that's just reading random comments. Right now we're using Delta (and running a relay) and it's just fine.
Don't forget Briar!
Briar fits into it's own niche (operational design), making it a choice for certain activities but not what I would call your general normie chat app. It makes tradeoffs (using the local network, no caching relays, etc.) to increase security posture at the expense of general use. IIRC, Jack Dorsey's BitChat was modeled after the same designs? (which is interesting, because Nostr his other pet doesn't)
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this is bullshit designed to respond to increasing use of simplexchat and other platforms
and they still want to tie it to payment (so a credit card) so they can track people
and they are implementing it only after many years
a complex captcha that takes 10 minutes to solve would work just as well as payment, but they aren't doing it, and it certainly leaves me wondering if they are a honeypot. i can't prove it, but it's really suspicious it's taken so long to possibly roll out something that may require a credit card
I have watched the futo video and i think don't think its very likely it will become a paid feature. The CTO said they would want to have the registration require some kind of cost but it was almost certainly meant as a computing cost not money.
Bullllllllshit.
They've said that for years. It's easy to do. But they won't do it
How's it easy?
Not the technical part (which definitely looks as easy as just dropping a requirement), but the spam/abuse prevention part.
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Boy... We are going to get spammed.
I never understood the "phone numbers are evil" people, whining about signal requiring them. As soon as this arrives, they will find another thing to whine about.
Hopefully Signal will make it possible to block any and all communications from people wohtout a phone number, unless I reach out to them. And that that feature also be introduced to groups. Because otherwise maintaining public groups is going to be turboshit.
mobile numbers require government identification in many countries. But yeah, not seeing an easy solution to the spam problem
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simplex doesn't require phone numbers or emails to sign up.
instead you need to scan codes for a trust. it's actually everything I wanted in a messenger. well...I wish they had gifs like telegram.
And how's the spam on simplex?
nonexistent.
unless someone literally invites you to the chat you're not getting in.
unless you literally allow someone to scan your code, you will not be able to send them messages.
Wat? What about public groups?
they are currently in beta but really don't exist.
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