Sure, but couldn't you just use a disposable number? (Assuming you live in a place where you can buy SIM cards without showing a personal ID, which is most countries.)
That's a minor inconvenience compared to not being able to communicate with most people who use these mainstream networks.
I'm more worried about the lack of encryption and trustworthiness aspect of them than giving away a phone number.
> Of the 245 countries/territories with territory-bound mobile operators, 185 countries have SIM card registration laws. 13 will collect biometrics (fingerprints, but some will take a face scan too). 51 countries have no registration requirements.
Hmm I didn't think it would be that many. I'm sure there might be workarounds, like ordering online or buying from vending machines at airports, etc., but yeah, it's certainly not as convenient as before.
> Assuming you live in a place where you can buy SIM cards without showing a personal ID, which is most countries
I had understood that the majority of countries now required SIM card registration. Plenty of EU member states do (at least Belgium, Austria, Italy, Germany...), so it's not just the usual suspects(!)
The are no disposable numbers in many countries anymore. On the top of that you are just generating even more signal than using a single number.
People have to understand that meta-data about you is almost as important as data.
For example just the fact that your phone has signal or telegram installed is meta-data that helps to identify you. They do not need to know your name.
you can't get disposable (anonymous) mobile numbers in india.
>I'm more worried about the lack of encryption and trustworthiness aspect of them than giving away a phone number.
you can use your own encryption on top of a cleartext model if that is a problem
