Alternative to Signal with same level of privacy but do not share phone number?

So I found that Signal messenger is highly regarded when it comes to privacy. But using it by requiring a phone number to be used and that you have to share this to people you're talking with is kind of intrusive for me. The reason why I liked Telegram is because I don't have to share my phone number and that I can make a user handle that I can publicly share, which I can also change or remove anytime. So my question, is there a messaging app that has the same level privacy (or more) as Signal but also have the Telegram user feature that I mentioned?

Thanks.


Edit:

P.S. no app suggestions coming from Meta pls. :P

https://redd.it/svgg7f
@PrivacyGuides

Alternative to Signal with same level of privacy but do not share phone number?

So I found that Signal messenger is highly regarded when it comes to privacy. But using it by requiring a phone number to be used and that you have to share this to people you're talking with is kind of intrusive for me. The reason why I liked Telegram is because I don't have to share my phone number and that I can make a user handle that I can publicly share, which I can also change or remove anytime. So my question, is there a messaging app that has the same level privacy (or more) as Signal but also have the Telegram user feature that I mentioned?

Thanks.


Edit:

P.S. no app suggestions coming from Meta pls. :P

https://redd.it/svgg7f
@PrivacyGuides

Bromite is on Chromium 97

Just wanted to make sure everyone knew that Bromite is a bit more up-to-date.

https://redd.it/sve6zi
@PrivacyGuides

Bromite is on Chromium 97

Just wanted to make sure everyone knew that Bromite is a bit more up-to-date.

https://redd.it/sve6zi
@PrivacyGuides

Elza-Browser

What you people think on elza-brwoser?, open source, privacy-focus, etc

https://redd.it/svh8i7
@PrivacyGuides

Android keyboard recommendations?

I am new to Android and noticed in Adguard that my Gboard has already sent 17MB of data after a couple of days of usage.

Therefore, my question: is there any recommendation for a simple, offline and privacy-respecting keyboard on Android that the community here would recommend using?

https://redd.it/svh6sp
@PrivacyGuides

Is Protonmail worth paying for?

Hi there, I was using disroot as my private email and I was thinking of applying it to the all aspects of my life. The problem is sometimes disroot gets offline, it has no e2ee encryption, calender/contacts have zero encryption. It needs to be Thunderbird compatible where both e-mails serve this purpose. I found protonmail to be all around email provider with free cloud storage and wondering if it is worth the switch and pay monthly. (I don't like paid subscription services) I will use this e-mail to send e-mails to unencrypted email holders so probably my mails as a whole will be unencrypted.

Note: Please be kind and sympathetic. Any rude and aggressive messages will be blocked and reported. Thanks.

https://redd.it/svnuef
@PrivacyGuides

andOTP disappeared?

Hello, I'm researching Android OTP apps and andOTP comes up regularly as one to look at. As of this morning all links I can find to the Google Play Store show it as not found.

I did find a link to it on F-Droid.

Can anyone comment on the path of this app off Google and only on F-Droid?

https://redd.it/svnjvr
@PrivacyGuides

Firefox privacy extensions choice

Hi, I used to use :
1- uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Decentralizer and ClearUrls for privacy.
2- AudioContext Fingerprint Defender,Defender,Font Fingerprint Defender for Fingerprint defending.

My question, which is the minimal setup that I should have for both 'cause I doubt that many of them are making the same thing...

https://redd.it/svp6cz
@PrivacyGuides

Contextual Policies and LAN Protection added to NoScript
https://hackademix.net/2022/02/17/contextual-policies-lan-protection-abe-quantum-in-noscript-113/

https://redd.it/svs1fx
@PrivacyGuides

Opacity.io

Came across this service in my journey to find the ultimate cloud for me.
The problem is that there’s not much info about this service and I was wondering if anyone is using it or even heard about it.

https://redd.it/svszv3
@PrivacyGuides

Firefox extensions not appearing in toolbar

I did a Firefox factory reset, hardened the browser in the privacy settings and installed the extensions I need. The problem is that the extensions don't appear on the toolbar, while before the factory reset they did appear. Can anybody help me with this?

I am in macos, btw.

https://redd.it/svuxuy
@PrivacyGuides

Had to un-harden my Firefox due to work-related Container usage. Need a second browser for personal stuff.

My work involves lots of different login profiles, and Firefox's Containers have been a boon.

Problem is, hardened Firefox breaks most of my work-related sites. So I've un-hardened it.

Now I just need a new browser for personal stuff.

(Yes, another one of those posts—but slightly different I promise.)

I specifically want to get more thoughts on Librewolf. This site mentions that Librewolf does too many fishy things on startup, but the official FAQ suggests they are harmless. Are there any other considerations to not use it?

Currently, I'm testing out Ungoogled Chromium instead, but I'm not digging the manual updating, nor the idea of relying on a tiny team for long-term development. I read somewhere that it's actually just one guy, for the most part.

Any thoughts or other recommendations? Btw I'm on Linux.

https://redd.it/svovcc
@PrivacyGuides

Front end alternatives for IMBD?

There are different more privacy-conscious (also faster and less bloat) for youtube, reddit and even wikipedia. But does one exist for movie db sites such as imdb/tmdb? Mainly just for browsing and not necessarily to be associated with an account to create list or track shows. If it doesn’t, how does one even get started to create one, like libreddit, invidious and wikiless?

https://redd.it/svxagq
@PrivacyGuides

Front end alternatives for IMBD?

There are different more privacy-conscious (also faster and less bloat) for youtube, reddit and even wikipedia. But does one exist for movie db sites such as imdb/tmdb? Mainly just for browsing and not necessarily to be associated with an account to create list or track shows. If it doesn’t, how does one even get started to create one, like libreddit, invidious and wikiless?

https://redd.it/svxagq
@PrivacyGuides

Confused with messaging options .

The more and more i think about it Messengers like Telegram/Signal are considered more secure than WhatsApp but Telegram makes no sense they only have open sourced their clients not their encryption so who knows if they are reading it .

Signal is respected and once they stop asking for phone numbers im assuming they will be the gold standard but i have a small problem i use multiple phones and right now signal does not seem to allow this ( multiple desktops may work but i dont know ) .

Then comes Jami ( Completely open source and decentralised for content )

Xmpp/Jabber is considered old 😅.

So what comes close to Telegram in its features but isn’t shady .

https://redd.it/svokqc
@PrivacyGuides

Confused with messaging options .

The more and more i think about it Messengers like Telegram/Signal are considered more secure than WhatsApp but Telegram makes no sense they only have open sourced their clients not their encryption so who knows if they are reading it .

Signal is respected and once they stop asking for phone numbers im assuming they will be the gold standard but i have a small problem i use multiple phones and right now signal does not seem to allow this ( multiple desktops may work but i dont know ) .

Then comes Jami ( Completely open source and decentralised for content )

Xmpp/Jabber is considered old 😅.

So what comes close to Telegram in its features but isn’t shady .

https://redd.it/svokqc
@PrivacyGuides

Is Cookie Auto Delete really needed?

I have the Cookie Auto Delete extension on Firefox but I also have the "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" setting enabled.

My question is does this Firefox setting makes Cookie Auto Delete a useless extension?

https://redd.it/svksi4
@PrivacyGuides

Covid testing firm ‘selling swabs carrying customers’ DNA’ to third parties
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/covid-testing-firm-selling-swabs-carrying-customers-dna-to-third-parties-301236/

https://redd.it/sw2xgi
@PrivacyGuides

Is Cookie Auto Delete really needed?

I have the Cookie Auto Delete extension on Firefox but I also have the "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" setting enabled.

My question is does this Firefox setting makes Cookie Auto Delete a useless extension?

https://redd.it/svksi4
@PrivacyGuides

Is Cookie Auto Delete really needed?

I have the Cookie Auto Delete extension on Firefox but I also have the "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" setting enabled.

My question is does this Firefox setting makes Cookie Auto Delete a useless extension?

https://redd.it/svksi4
@PrivacyGuides