Why does Signal want a phone number to register if it's supposedly privacy first?
I remember a time when visiting a website that opens a javacript dialog box asking for your name so the message "hi <name entered>" could be displayed was baulked at.
Why does signal want a phone number to register? Is there a better alternative?
What SimpleX, Signal, or any app like this need first and foremost is traction, as new users generate more new users. One of Signal's goals is usability (usually achieved by being simple, as in no complexity for the end user). In my opinion SimpleX lacks that.
This is the same reason Signal needs a phone number: populating your contact list with users already on the platform
You can go to Simplex (for sure a lot of people here already done it) but if only privacy nerds get to this place this is not a great solution.
We (I'm talking about us using Lemmy and chatting on SimpleX) must convince people, starting by friends and family to stop using these fucking socials then at this point SimpleX will be considered as a viable alternative