But WhatsApp requires a phone number, and requires that the recipient (of your message) have your number in their contacts list (or at least you should have the

But WhatsApp requires a phone number, and requires that the recipient (of your message) have your number in their contacts list (or at least you should have their number in your contacts). Once your number (and your contacts') have been leaked to WhatsApp, enough metadata has been leaked to make communication risky. Why doesn't WhatsApp allow anonymous communication? I should be able to create ephemeral WhatsApp "IDs", and anyome who knows my "ID" should be able to communicate with me anonymously and securely, no strings attached.