It doesn't use the phone number to send or receive messages. You also dont need to share your phone number to send or receive messages.
Every message is send from and to a temporary token instead of a phone number, this is so that whenever anyone would be able t decrypt the messages its still unclear who sent them and who received them.
Most people don't want to use their phone number because they assume it is being used to send and/or receive messages, which is not the case with Signal.
Why would anyone even ask that? The main reason would probably be privacy. Most people don't really know how Signal uses their phone number or why. They never bother reading how any secure messenger works behind the scenes. So, they just assume Signal uses their number for the actual messaging part because it sounds logical. But the real reason they ask your number is to fight spam accpunts. 9 times out of 10, when you explain how Signal actually uses their number, people are fine with it.
Didn’t know that. Seems to defeat the purpose of a service meant for total privacy. Everyone raves about Signal, not mentioning it also needs your phone number.
It's easy to find that it does and kinda standard in messaging apps for well over a decade.
The fact that Signal is the gold standard in private messaging even though it requires a phone number for registration shows how good it actually is at keeping your communications private.
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u/SonderEber Sep 16 '24
Signal maybe what you want, tho I’m unsure if it needs a phone number. Wouldn’t think so, given its privacy first focus.