Signal Private Messenger is one of the world’s most popular end-to-end encrypted messaging apps. The app uses a next-gen encryption protocol that ensures no third-party can access private user information. Therefore, your conversations and shared files are always safe. What’s great about Signal is that you can also use it without a phone number.
If you are wondering how to use Signal without a phone number, you have arrived at the right place. Even though other messaging apps such as WhatsApp are leading users to believe that they can’t access Signal without a phone number, this is not the case. There is a little trick that makes it possible and today we will show it to you.
Why You Should Avoid Using Your Number
The reason why most people don’t want to place their phone numbers into the chatting app is that they don’t want to share it with the people that they are chatting anonymously. Therefore, you can benefit from end-to-end encryption and anonymity without having to share any personal details.
How to Use Signal Without Phone Number
High-end apps such as Signal Private Messenger require a phone to a number so that they can send a verification text. This might come as a surprise, but Signal doesn’t need the number in order to make the account work. The number is there just for verification purposes and therefore, you can use one that is registered to Google Voice.
Google Voice can be used to set up a free VoIP number that you can use for Signal. After the app sends you the throw-away activation code, you can forget all about the VoIP number because you will not need it anymore.
After setting up your Signal account, the next step is to set a Signal Registrational Lock PIN. This is necessary because it will make sure that no one else can register your number without having access to the PIN you select. Our advice is to select a strong PIN and to copy it on a piece of paper so that you never forget it.
Important Sidenote: The Registration Lock PIN expires after seven days of inactivity. Therefore, you will need to either use it regularly or request a new PIN once a week.