They don't require you to connect your identities because they can do that for you by heavily encouraging you to add your phone number to all their apps. All me

They don't require you to connect your identities because they can do that for you by heavily encouraging you to add your phone number to all their apps. All metadata about where you are and who you're talking to goes to Facebook. Imagine if instead of acquiring WhatsApp, Facebook allowed you to install its Messenger app and sign up with a phone number instead of a Facebook account. Would you then consider the Messenger app to be appropriately separate and independent from Facebook? It has end-to-end encryption.