I saw some threads here about Telegram and piracy stuff being banned. So, as an experimental alternative, I created a public Signal group for piracy.

Maybe it'll be useful?

Before joining

Signal supports usernames and hiding telephone numbers. Here's a blog entry on how to do so. You might want to:

  • set a username
  • change your profile name (these are two separate things!)
  • hide your phone number
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[–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

Arguable in it being "the best app for privacy". Can you link to a source which shows that phone numbers are not linked to accounts? (Why do they need them anyway?)

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    They have published requests from the law enforcement and their responses to these requests. The only unencrypted data they have is the phone number, a date of sign up and a date of the last login. That is it, everything else is encrypted and they cannot access it whatsoever.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    The problem is, if you're in Europe, your phone number is associated with your identity

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    No you don't.

    I can go to the corner shop/local garage right now, buy a SIM card for 99p and then buy a top-up voucher in cash to have a completely anonymous phone number.

    Albeit is the UK in Europe again? 🙈

    edit: where I would be worried if my privacy was on the line is I could also go to the local pawn shop / Cash Converters to ensure that SIM card isn't associated with an IMEI I've previously used and buy in cash a cheapo phone.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Same in a few other European countries. I'm doing it right now with a few SIMs. You can also go on holiday to another country, get a few temporary SIMs there for a few quid and fly back home with the "contraband". Really not hard.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    The last time I bought a SIM in the UK I was told specifically I could not buy it with cash.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago*

    So what? The law enforcement knows you have an account and knows the sign up date and last login. That doesn’t affect your privacy whatsoever. Besides, Europe isn’t a monolith. You can absolutely buy and use a SIM card without disclosing your name in some countries.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I believe the same is true in the US.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    It is not. You do not show any ID to get a phone number

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago* (1 child)

    You also don't need to show any ID for a business to meet "know-your-customer" regulations. Can you get a phone number without revealing your identity?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Isn't the same true in the EU, then?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Only if you don't have to show your ID to get a number

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago

    Sometimes, but that's it. Authorities and signal itself can only say "this number has account with us since $signupDate and used it last on $usageDate". Signal can't say "we know $number is talking to $otherNumber" nor can they say "$number is in $group talking to $users".

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