Signal, an end-to-end encrypted ( E2EE ) messaging app, announced that it is testing out a new feature that enables users to create distinctive usernames ( not to be confused with profile names ) and hide their phone numbers from prying eyes.
Your phone number wo n’t be automatically visible to everyone you chat with if you use Signal, according to Signal’s Randall Sarafa. Since they already know your phone number, people who have it saved in their contacts will still be able to see it.
Account holders must enter two or more numbers ( e .g., axolotl ) at the end of each new username. 99 ) to maintain their “egalitarian status and reduce spoofing.” Usernames can be changed at any time, but it’s important to remember that they do n’t serve as handles or logins.
To put it another way, a username allows you to start conversations on the chat platform without giving your phone number. The feature is opt-in, but Signal added that it is also taking steps to prevent other users from seeing the phone numbers saved in their phone’s contacts by defaulting them.
Additionally, users can use a different setting to control who can find them by their phone numbers, preventing others from messaging them even if they do.
The following steps can be used to switch between both of these options:
- Who Can See My Number Andgt, Everyone/No One, Privacy Andggt and Phone Number
- Who Can Find Me By Number Andgt, Everybody/No One, Privacy Andggt
Unless someone has your phone number in their phone’s contacts, people you chat with on Signal wo n’t be able to see it, according to Sarafa. ” You can also set up a new privacy setting on Signal to restrict who can find you using your phone number.”