• Akimoto
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    2 years ago

    They probably do it to prevents spam/abuse. It is supposed to be a better WhatsApp after all, not a completely federated software. So it gotta be somewhat user friendly.

    • Democracy
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      2 years ago

      What? It’s easier for spammers/scammers to enumerate phone numbers (because they follow a specific pattern) than usernames or random IDs.

      • AgreeableLandscape
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        2 years ago

        Probably referring to that it’s harder for scammers to create scam accounts because they need to verify the phone number is actually theirs before the account can send messages. IMO, still not worth requiring a phone number for the 90% of legitimate users.

        • thervingi
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          2 years ago

          There are websites online that offer 10 minute phone numbers.

          • AgreeableLandscape
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            2 years ago

            Not sure if Signal does this, but most websites will automatically look up the phone number registration, see that it’s from one of those companies, and reject it.