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{{title|title=
Phone Number Validation vs User Privacy
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|description=Phone Number Validation
|image=Validation12312421.png
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[[File:Validation12312421.png|thumb|100px]]
{{intro|
The mandatory linkage of the software application with a phone number makes it very likely adversaries can easily link any 'anonymous' use of such applications in {{project_name_long}} with a user's real identity.
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Some applications like [[Signal]] and [[Telegram]] require the user to provide a phone number for verification.

Even if a secondary phone number is used as a limited workaround. At the time of writing user requests to enable registration with an email account as a possible alternative have been ignored or denied by some developers of such applications. For this reason alone, alternative options like [[Chat#Gajim|Gajim]], and [[Chat#Tox|Tox]] should be investigated instead; see [[Chat|Instant Messenger Chat]] for further information. Readers are of course free to ignore this advice.

In many cases (such as Signal and Telegram) the number can be different form the device's SIM card; it can be a landline or VoIP number, so long as the user can receive the verification code and possesses a separate device to set up the software. A far safer registration alternative is to utilize a random online phone number, see: {{kicksecure_wiki
|wikipage=Mobile_Phone_Security#Phone_Number_Registration_Unlinked_to_SIM_Card
|text=Phone Number Registration Unlinked to SIM Card}}.

[https://theintercept.com/2024/07/16/signal-app-privacy-phone-number/ The Intercept: how I got a truly anonymous signal account] describes how difficult it is to pass phone number validation.

Chapter [[Tips_on_Remaining_Anonymous#Avoid_(Mobile)_Phone_Verification|Do not Use (Mobile) Phone Verification]] contains additional crucially important advice.

See also:

* {{kicksecure_wiki
|wikipage=Mobile_Phone_Security
|text=Mobile Devices Privacy and Security
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* {{kicksecure_wiki
|wikipage=Two-factor_authentication_2FA
|text=Two-factor Authentication (2FA)
}}

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[[Category:Documentation]]