{"id":8440,"date":"2026-09-22T04:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T11:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8440"},"modified":"2026-09-22T04:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T11:49:07","slug":"signal-will-let-you-sign-up-without-a-phone-number-for-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8440","title":{"rendered":"Signal Will Let You Sign Up Without a Phone Number \u2014 For $3"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"signal<\/figure>\n

Signal is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that doesn’t really need an introduction in this age of authoritarian overreach. Since the beginning, it has required a phone number at signup, even after it gained username support<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s been quite weird to see, given that other privacy-focused messengers like Session and Matrix have never required a phone number to get started.<\/p>\n

The beta release of Signal 8.28<\/a> for Android changes that with Signal Login<\/strong>, an optional registration path that skips the phone number requirement entirely. The existing flow remains in place for anyone who wants to stick with the standard registration method.<\/p>\n

How numberless logins work<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

The pricing shown changes according to your device’s region.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead of asking for your mobile number, Signal will ask you to pay a one-time $2.99 fee via Google Pay<\/strong>, and the exact pricing depends on your device’s region.<\/p>\n

I say that because even with an active VPN connection that was pointing to the United States, Signal still showed me pricing in INR instead of USD.<\/p>\n

And if you are worried about Google’s involvement<\/strong> in this, Greyson Parrelli<\/a> of the Signal team points out that the payment runs through the same zero-knowledge proof setup it uses for donations<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This way, no link is created between the purchase and the new account.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once payment completes, Signal generates two keys. A 32-character Account ID<\/em> and a 64-character Recovery Key<\/em> replace the phone number as the account’s identity. Keep in mind that Signal doesn’t have a recovery mechanism for these if either is lost.<\/p>\n

Two-factor authentication via TOTP can be added after registration as extra protection, and passkey support, including hardware keys, has been confirmed. <\/p>\n

If you were looking for the details on iOS support<\/strong>, then know that Signal Login won’t be arriving on that platform anytime soon.<\/p>\n

The Play Services caveat<\/h2>\n

The feature currently requires Google Play Services<\/a>, as payments run through the Play Store, making it such that devices without Play Services cannot access it<\/strong>. If you are running a de-Googled smartphone<\/a>, then you will have to wait as more payment methods are planned.<\/p>\n

While the support documentation<\/a> for this feature lists Apple Pay alongside Google Pay as a payment option, this contradicts what I saw in the beta app, as well as what Greyson has written in the Signal forum.<\/p>\n

You can test it now<\/h2>\n

The latest packages in the 8.28.x beta series can be downloaded from Signal’s GitHub releases page<\/a>. To sideload it on your Android device, follow these instructions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Find the latest version in the 8.28.x series and download the universal-release<\/code> APK file from the “Assets<\/em>” dropdown.<\/li>\n
  2. Install it on your Android device; you might need to allow installs from unknown sources<\/em> to get this done.<\/li>\n
  3. Open Signal, tap “Continue<\/em>“, then select “Register Without Phone Number<\/em>.”<\/li>\n
  4. Complete the $2.99 purchase via Google Pay.<\/li>\n
  5. Save your Account ID<\/em> and Recovery Key<\/em> on a notepad or a password manager<\/a> before proceeding.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Signal is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that doesn’t really need an introduction in this age of authoritarian overreach. Since the beginning, it has required a phone number at signup, even…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}