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Signal is the No. 1 downloaded app in the Netherlands. But why?
(techcrunch.com)
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this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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Privacy
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What you said is exactly the point of preventing spam. Having a real identity attached to a signal identity is the point to prevent spam. There is functionally no difference between your multiaccount and a spammer with 6000 accounts.
I can't really see why, but if that's the case, signal is not the application for you, I suppose.
Yeah, but I'd say separating your identities you use for different things is a very basic measure a lot of people would want to use.
Well, it depends how you define different "things". In your example you are talking with people. It doesn't matter with whom or about what, and the service is a meta-service in this sense. You might not want to use the same email for the gambling site and for your school newsletter, but talking with people - information that says private - using a program that identifies you with a number is not the same thing.
Couldn't you use a signal username with the gaming buddies, and your real name / number with the people that already know it?
I don't use signal much, but I convinced 1 person. They didn't give me their number but gave me a username instead.
There is no option to set a different handle and avatar for different groups of people tho, and I don't remember if the username shows if you get discovered by number. Also, this was just an example - usually you'd have more than two groups you'd want to isolate.
Can you elaborate what would you want to achieve? Are you trying to hide your identity from your interlocutors (e.g., gambling buddies), so that they wouldn't know you are John Doe?
a) yes, exactly this and b) where tf did you take "gambling" here?
Sorry, one person above made the example of the "gaming" buddies, I assumed it was gambling and it was a good use case for an example.
I see anyway, it indeed seems this is not a use-case for signal.
Gotcha, so you can have two "identities" at a time. I guess this is for spam prevention.
Afaik the username does not show if you are added by number