@lumi@vftdan@lumi i do feel that the phone number requirement is a holdover. signal used to be a very sms-centric platform, and with the sms stuff being removed and the new username system being implemented (and incredibly overengineered) i feel like phone numbers will be reduced to just one of few options in the future. the demand seems to be there. remember, signal is a non-profit and they like doing things the best way they can, so things move very slowly. we'll have to see!