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Best private messenger that does not need my phone number to sign up?

I am trying to move at least my close friends and family off the big apps and onto something that respects privacy, but there is one specific hangup: I do not want to hand over my phone number to sign up. Most of the "private" recommendations I see still want a number, which defeats half the point for me. I would rather sign up with just an email, or a username, and keep my number to myself. Bonus points if it is properly end to end encrypted by default, works on desktop as well as phone, and is not so obscure that nobody I know will actually install it. I know that is asking a lot. What do people actually use for this in real life, not just the theoretical "most secure" answer that no normal person will touch?

KKofi Jain12mo ago685 views

2 answers

Session is the usual pick, it uses a random ID instead of a phone number or email, and messages route over an onion network. Threema is another, it is a paid one-time app that works with just an ID. Both skip the phone number entirely.

KKai Park12mo ago

Exactly what I needed today. – Desmond Walsh 12mo ago

Clear, concise, correct. Rare combo on the internet these days. – Desmond Boone 12mo ago

Funny how the app never makes any of this obvious. – Arun Yadav 12mo ago

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If you want no-number and mainstream-ish, it is slim pickings. Session and Threema are the real answers. Signal now allows usernames so people can find you without seeing your number, but you still register with one.

NNadia Cohen12mo ago

Best private messenger that does not need my phone number to sign up?

2 answers

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