Yes, you can use Signal without sharing your personal phone number. Here’s how I did it.
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How I Got a Truly Anonymous XMPP Account:
- Open my client (e.g. Conversations, Monal, Dino)
- Pick a random server, username and password
- Click register
Sorry, it’s a cheap joke, but it still baffles me that Signal requires a phone number, so I felt I had to post it :)
Of course, this is not XMPP-specific either, just my protocol of choice, there are many other open alternatives that also offer such functionality.
And - gasp! - you can do it from your computer directly! No Android emulators, no inconvenient command-line client!
and then you can anonymously chat with yourself because no one else will bother installing that favorite app of yours!
I’ve been trying to get people off WhatsApp for who knows how many years now. With Signal, i have a chance of convincing people. When you start talking about matrix or session or SimpleX or ???, people stay on WhatsApp
tl;dr the sms verification falls back to voice and they just used a payphone.
I guess if you count the airport full of cameras they went to to do this as “anonymous”, then sure :)
Also this article from 2017 suggests not using this method:
It’s important to maintain control of this phone number. For example, you could use a disposable SMS service to register with Signal — there are many such services if you search for them — but those phone numbers can be used by anyone. Similarly, you should avoid using a public payphone’s number, or a SIM card on which you do not intend to renew service. If someone else can receive SMS messages or phone calls to this phone number, they can take your Signal account away from you.
That risk is not just theoretical. I made a test account (on another service; not Signal) using a free anonymous SMS number. A few months later, the account had been hijacked.
Of course, if it’s a disposable account, then having it hijacked after you’re done with it might be a good thing.
Signal has account pins now so I don’t think the attack vector is as large as it used to be
What about buying the cheapest SIM card in a convenience store and activate the service with it using a dumb phone?
That might work in most places, but there are countries that only sell pre-paid cards with ID registration.
What about a virtual phone number?
