Gregory's Server@Baffling7384 @signalapp Yes. I would like to be able to have a second username attached to a second profile picture & a second bio that I can access either with a second account that I created without a phone number or from within my primary account. That would allow me to separate my professional identity, which unfortunately can't just be the real me due to the political environment in my country, & the real me. That way if I didn't trust someone but needed to talk to them I could give them the username to my professional account & they would not be able to see my real profile. Almost every other instant messenger has a feature for having separate profiles or allows you to create a second account. Signal is one of the few that doesn't have this, but it is the one that would benefit the most from having it.
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19 comments
 @Baffling7384 @signalapp What's the point of an alias feature if I can't afford the phone number I need to make an account in the first place? @jackemled @signalapp Wait don't you have a Signal account already? The point of the alias feature would be that you would use that same phone number you already have for multiple aliases. You wouldn't need another subscription. @Baffling7384 @signalapp No, I don't have one. I can't make one. It needs a phone number @jackemled @signalapp I see. Well that's another issue. I just assumed you already had one because you complained about your profile data sharing. @Baffling7384 @signalapp I think you're misunderstanding what I said. @jackemled @signalapp I agree. Here (https://furry.engineer/@jackemled/113466486460566571) you say you need a second profile (an alias) for your main Signal account. Because of this I assumed you already had an account so using a phone number wouldn't have been an issue to begin with. That is not the case it seems. So you would want to use your furry persona in a secure way preferably via Signal without phone number because using your phone number would expose you right? @jackemled You must be already using some platform to communicate with "normal" people and furries right? If the fact that you have to use a phone number to register is not a non starter, then all you have to do is decide which persona you want to have better privacy, and use the number you already have with that persona's Signal. Just because you can't use it on both doesn't mean you can't use it on at least one. Keep using the platform you are already using with the lower privacy persona. @Baffling7384 @signalapp For example, if I am told by my workplace to create a Signal account for communication I can't make the excuse "it won't let me, someone else registered with this phone number before". That would require me to contact Signal support to have them delete my real account & register my fake account, which loses all of the contacts I had. Then I will have the fake account to present to work, but I will no longer be able to use Signal to communicate to my friends securely. @jackemled @signalapp I see. One thing I'd like to point out that you can delete and re-register your Signal account yourself in a matter of 10 minutes if necessary. But then of course you will lose your data and contacts. I don't know which company would require a Signal account though. @jackemled @signalapp Also wouldn't having multiple aliases help your situation? You can give different profiles with usernames to different people registered to the same phone number. Profile A to people in A situation Both A and B tied to the same phone number. They can't be connected. @Baffling7384 @signalapp That's exactly what I already do & what I've been explaining, but that doesn't work for Signal because you can only have one account for each phone number. Also, what about people that can't afford a phone number? @jackemled @signalapp Okay now we're on the same page. The way to make things like that happen is to suggest them in places like the Signal community forum. Do you want me to check whether it has been suggested before, and if not suggest it for you? Do you want to do that yourself? @Baffling7384 @signalapp I'm sure it has been suggested before. I'm pretty sure I actually looked for it & found it on there & it had been asked for & denied like eight years ago or something. I would prefer not to create more accounts for more things because I have too many, not counting the "normal person" accounts I have. |
@jackemled @signalapp I think the main reason why this is not already a thing is the same with no phone number registration, that is: anti-abuse and anti-spam verification.
Nevertheless I think this is a very good idea and should be added, with up to let's say 5 aliases per phone number. You should go to community.signalusers.org and suggest it there if it hasn't been suggested before.