zlacker

Phone verification does have value in adopting the network effects of phone numbers and integrity by making it harder to mass create accounts.

>>charci+(OP)
Right, it's a way to create a cost barrier without anyone giving Signal a credit card directly.

>>charci+(OP)
It would have very particular ethical trade-offs, but they could just make signing up without a phone number a paid option. That has the advantage of actually turning a cost center into a profit center, at the distinct disadvantage of creating a moral hazard by the exact same virtue.