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How Signal Made the Phone Number Optional, and What the Zero-Knowledge Proof Actually Protects

Signal has long had a privacy contradiction at its core: the most secure mainstream messenger still required a phone number to sign up. That number became a de facto identity anchor, linkable to you even if you never shared it with contacts.

  • Signal introduced optional registration without phone number
  • Zero-knowledge proofs protect payment privacy
  • Beta version available on Android with 3 USD fee

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