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Signal requiring phone number, thoughts on anonymity? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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signal requires a phone number to sign up. a phone number could be used to trace your signal account back to you. so why do people, especially privacy enthusiasts and experts (like edward snowden), still use it and endorse it when it lacks anonymity in that sense? i get that people could use a voip number or something to sign up, but still.

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[–] 67 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Privacy isn't anonymity. Signal promises privacy, not anonymity.

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  • [+] -10 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    My privacy can't be protected without anonymity. So signal provides neither

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    That's like saying there's no point in having bathroom doors because everyone can see you going in.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    It is if using bathrooms can get you kidnapped by uniformed gangsters in your country

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Then you need both anonymity and privacy. Sometimes you do need both but they're not the same concept.

    Privacy without anonymity is you using the bathroom with everyone seeing you walking in. They know you used the bathroom but have no idea what you did inside.

    Anonymity without privacy is like you pissing on the street with a ski mask on. Everyone saw what you did but no one knows who you are.

    Having both is walking into the bathroom with a ski mask on. No one knows who you are nor what you did inside.

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