Get rid of the requirement for a phone number and I am all over it. However, there is no way I'm going to link my phone number to something like that. Tried using the one time phone numbers out there, but they all seem to be used up. I kept getting the message "An account already exists with this number."
^^This. No identifying information. Anonymity is a key component of online free speech. A leftist PR campaign brainwashed people into believing the opposite circa 2008, to the benefit of FB and Google.
A decade later, here we are. Average joe can’t even INSTALL a program that isn’t ‘approved’ on his OWN DEVICE, and anything he says online is shadowbanned and censored in a thousand different ways. He’s as unprotected from hacking and identity theft as he ever was.
People knew what the consequences of this kind of control would be back in 1995 when ‘the internet’ first took off. End User License Agreements were considered legally invalid. Anonymity was considered an essential best practice. Data retention was considered invasion of privacy, and possibly theft. Hardware locks and operating system control or monitoring of users was anathema.
Big tech managed to fool people into inverting common sense, and that infectious trend has corrupted every part of society.
It's a good idea to have a secondary phone and email for exactly this kind of stuff.
Use ProtonMail for secondary email.
Use Google Voice or a similar service for a secondary phone number.
I don't usually recommend Google services but Google Voice numbers are a bit "cleaner" than BurnerPhone type numbers in terms of blacklisting. That is, Twitter will usually accept Google Voice numbers but may decline a BurnerPhone number, esp. if someone before you has been issued that number and used it to, e.g., spam people.
So you can set up a sockpuppet Google account, then go to Google Voice and sign up for a phone number. They'll ask you for a physical phone number (smart phone, landline, whatever) to verify with. You can then start using the secondary number for social signups without giving away your personal #.
For added security beyond that, invest in a $20 flip phone from Walmart that can make calls and receive texts. Use a nickname when activating. You'll literally only use it for site verification, so buy a $10 pay-as-you go card and stick it in a drawer. No need for a monthly plan. Then use THAT as the verification phone for Google Voice.
All of the above intended to shield you from casual harassment by moderators and employees who may have access to your account info. Obviously if someone with power or authority wants to find out who you are, they can talk to the phone # provider and get that information. The point here is to discourage casual doxxing vectors as well as prevent your personal email and phone number from being banned/blacklisted. Only expose throwaway emails and phone numbers to Big Tech, except for your primary personal account, if any, which should be kept clean.
Get rid of the requirement for a phone number and I am all over it. However, there is no way I'm going to link my phone number to something like that. Tried using the one time phone numbers out there, but they all seem to be used up. I kept getting the message "An account already exists with this number."
^^This. No identifying information. Anonymity is a key component of online free speech. A leftist PR campaign brainwashed people into believing the opposite circa 2008, to the benefit of FB and Google.
A decade later, here we are. Average joe can’t even INSTALL a program that isn’t ‘approved’ on his OWN DEVICE, and anything he says online is shadowbanned and censored in a thousand different ways. He’s as unprotected from hacking and identity theft as he ever was.
People knew what the consequences of this kind of control would be back in 1995 when ‘the internet’ first took off. End User License Agreements were considered legally invalid. Anonymity was considered an essential best practice. Data retention was considered invasion of privacy, and possibly theft. Hardware locks and operating system control or monitoring of users was anathema.
Big tech managed to fool people into inverting common sense, and that infectious trend has corrupted every part of society.
Yeah I guess that’s a valid complaint... with cancel culture in full swing, attaching our views to anything that could identify us is a risk.
Someone should let Bongino know this, and see if he can influence that policy... I want to see him succeed.
I registered with just an email back when they were fairly new. The requiring a phone number now? I wouldn't like that either.
I registered fairly recently and I guess I already forgot... but you’re right, I didn’t need to give a phone, just email
Good point!
Maybe I’m wrong?... my memory is shit
It's a good idea to have a secondary phone and email for exactly this kind of stuff.
Use ProtonMail for secondary email.
Use Google Voice or a similar service for a secondary phone number.
I don't usually recommend Google services but Google Voice numbers are a bit "cleaner" than BurnerPhone type numbers in terms of blacklisting. That is, Twitter will usually accept Google Voice numbers but may decline a BurnerPhone number, esp. if someone before you has been issued that number and used it to, e.g., spam people.
So you can set up a sockpuppet Google account, then go to Google Voice and sign up for a phone number. They'll ask you for a physical phone number (smart phone, landline, whatever) to verify with. You can then start using the secondary number for social signups without giving away your personal #.
For added security beyond that, invest in a $20 flip phone from Walmart that can make calls and receive texts. Use a nickname when activating. You'll literally only use it for site verification, so buy a $10 pay-as-you go card and stick it in a drawer. No need for a monthly plan. Then use THAT as the verification phone for Google Voice.
All of the above intended to shield you from casual harassment by moderators and employees who may have access to your account info. Obviously if someone with power or authority wants to find out who you are, they can talk to the phone # provider and get that information. The point here is to discourage casual doxxing vectors as well as prevent your personal email and phone number from being banned/blacklisted. Only expose throwaway emails and phone numbers to Big Tech, except for your primary personal account, if any, which should be kept clean.
I agree. There is no reason to give any of these internet creeps your phone number