For what it is worth, creating an account on the matrix home instance using app.element.io or the matrix android app (haven't tried ios, but I assume it is the

For what it is worth, creating an account on the matrix home instance using app.element.io or the matrix android app (haven't tried ios, but I assume it is the same) takes literally 3 clicks. Click register, select the matrix home server, type in your desired username, password, and recovery email (no phone # required or even requested) and click register. The one part I see people struggle with is transferring keys across devices which is slightly convoluted (your keys are not stored on the matrix home server--for obvious reasons) but there are wizards to help you install your keys to a new device and for most use cases with phones completely unnecessary since you will always be using the same device.