Registration without a phone number on Signal will use zero-knowledge proofs

Signal is implementing zero-knowledge proofs to enable user registration without a phone number, allowing the platform to verify account information like username validity without revealing personal details to the server. The technology, which already powers Signal's donation badges and group features, maintains the platform's core design principle of not trusting the server with sensitive user data. Users in the discussion raised concerns about preventing spam and account abuse through unlinking phone numbers, with suggestions that cooldown periods or other safeguards would be necessary.