Doesn't explain why _only_ phone numbers are (currently) supported. Having phone numbers as the default or even asking permission to import your contacts would

Doesn't explain why _only_ phone numbers are (currently) supported. Having phone numbers as the default or even asking permission to import your contacts would have been fine-ish if it was also possible to register using another anonymous method like email... One counterpoint to using phone numbers: In China mobile phone numbers are almost universally enforced as your digital identifier because it makes surveillance extremely easy for a government while making it relatively hard for platforms themselves. Registering for a phone number mandates an ID check at the point of the service provider. This means that with a phone number based login, (1) you can be largely anonymous to platforms as you can have > 1 phone number, (2) you have 2fa built in automatically, but also (3) that the government can easily figure out who owns what accounts because your accounts are directly linked to your phone(s) and your phone(s) directly to you. It would be a great step forward if Signal moves towards alternate verifications that don't involve phone numbers...