{"id":49840,"date":"2025-04-09T09:59:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T09:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aboutsignal.com\/?p=49840"},"modified":"2026-10-17T22:28:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T20:28:20","slug":"signal-phone-number-registration-and-signal-login","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aboutsignal.com\/de\/blog\/signal-phone-number-registration-and-signal-login\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does Signal need a phone number to register? And what changes with Signal Login?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated 09\/17\/2026 to reflect the introduction of optional Signal Login<\/a>, which allows users to register without a phone number<\/em>. This is now available on Android<\/a> and will be coming to iOS soon.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Das Problem mit der Telefonnummer. Es ist wahrscheinlich einer der h\u00e4ufigsten Kritikpunkte, die man \u00fcber Signal h\u00f6rt. Und das will etwas hei\u00dfen. Ansonsten, mit seinem Fokus auf Sicherheit und Datenschutz bei gleichzeitiger Wahrung der Benutzerfreundlichkeit, bietet Signal wenig Anlass zur Kritik (Wir haben h\u00e4ufige Kritikpunkte und Mythen \u00fcber Signal in einem separaten Blog-Beitrag \u00fcberpr\u00fcft<\/a>). However, things have changed. Signal now offers Signal Login, which allows you to optionally register without a phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why did Signal need a phone number to register in the first place? And now that the optional Signal Login is available<\/a>, do you still need a phone number?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we’ll explain why Signal originally chose phone-number-based registration, what role the phone number still plays, and how Signal Login changes the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wie funktioniert die Registrierung bei Signal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, the facts. For many years, registering with Signal always required a phone number. This could be either a mobile or landline number. The number was then confirmed during registration with a verification code and linked to your Signal account. You can find details about the traditional registration process on this auf dieser offiziellen Support-Seite<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what was the reason for the decision to require a phone number during registration? Why couldn’t you simply sign up at Signal using an email address or any username?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dies ist die Antwort, die Signal-Pr\u00e4sidentin Meredith Whittaker 2022 auf genau diese Frage gegeben hat:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Telefonnummern erm\u00f6glichen es Menschen, ihr soziales Netzwerk in Signal zu \u201eimportieren\u201c \u2013 und, was noch wichtiger ist, es mitzunehmen, wenn sie Signal nicht mehr verwenden m\u00f6chten. Das Netzwerk, das Menschen \u00fcber ihre Telefonnummern mitbringen, hilft dabei, sich schnell mit Freunden und Kollegen zu verbinden. Und nat\u00fcrlich steht genau dieses Netzwerk \u2013 das Netzwerk der Menschen, die dir wichtig sind, mit denen du zusammenarbeiten und kommunizieren m\u00f6chtest \u2013 im Zentrum eines funktionierenden Messaging-Dienstes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This was one of the central reasons behind Signal’s decision to use phone numbers. But things have changed since that explanation was given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signal now offers usernames, which allow users to connect without sharing their phone number. And with the introduction of Signal Login<\/a>, Signal has taken the next step: you can now create a Signal account without providing a phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means the phone number is no longer a fundamental requirement for everyone who wants to use Signal, although it remains the main way to register and connect with existing contacts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signal without a phone number? \u2013 Now possible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What would a world look like where Signal wouldn’t require a phone number for registration? For a long time, Signal’s answer was that this would create a significant usability problem. After installing Signal, you simply wouldn’t know which of your friends could be contacted via Signal. Of course you could call all of your friends and ask if they’re on Signal and what their username is. But that’s not really practical for a messenger. And Signal believes that only a practical messenger is a useful and secure messenger. After all, what’s the value of a (theoretically) secure messenger that no one uses? Exactly. That’s why Signal traditionally opted for a compromise: use phone numbers for registration and contact discovery, while protecting those phone numbers as much as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By registering with your phone number, you can get started right away. Everyone who installs Signal can see which of the existing contacts are already on Signal and can immediately start writing secure messages. This explains the great success of Signal. Because unlike many other encrypted messaging apps you can get started right away and your friends are notified that you’re now on Signal as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally \u2013 as Meredith Whittaker mentions in the quote \u2013 this allows you to remain in “ownership” of your social network as much as possible. Assuming Facebook shuts down tomorrow (one can still dream) you’ll lose all your contacts there in an instant. On the other hand if you build a social network based on phone numbers it’s independent of the network provider. So if Signal discontinues its services tomorrow you can at least continue to maintain the contacts you’ve made by phone number and won’t lose them completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Signal has now found a way to separate the convenience of Signal from the requirement to provide a phone number. With Signal Login, you can register without a phone number. Instead of using a phone number as the registration credential, Signal provides an alternative registration mechanism. This means that the old argument that ‘Signal needs your phone number because otherwise nobody would be able to find you’ no longer applies in quite the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signal can use phone numbers for the traditional registration process while giving users who don’t want to provide a phone number another option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fighting spam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wie Signal-Pr\u00e4sidentin Meredith Whittaker best\u00e4tigt<\/a> there was another reason why Signal required a phone number for registration: combating spam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course it’s relatively easy to obtain new phone numbers and misuse them for spam purposes in some countries. However, this isn’t as easy or as inexpensive as email addresses for example. Therefore, the phone number requirement also made it easier for Signal to combat spam and thus further increase Signal’s user-friendliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is one of the biggest challenges Signal had to solve before offering registration without a phone number. Signal Login addresses this by introducing a different form of cost into the registration process. Signal Login requires a one-time payment rather than making phone-number-free registration completely free and unlimited. The payment is not intended to turn Signal into a subscription service. Instead, it provides an additional barrier against automated account creation, spam and abuse while also supporting Signal’s mission as a nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an important distinction. Signal Login does not mean that Signal has simply removed every barrier to creating an account. Instead, the phone number has been replaced as the barrier with another mechanism. For users who don’t want to pay, the traditional phone-number-based registration remains available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signal hides phone numbers by default<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s worth noting that when you use a phone number to register for Signal it doesn\u2019t mean that your phone number is exposed to all other Signal contacts. Since February 2024 Signal hides your phone number from your Signal contacts by default. If you use Signal, your phone number will no longer be visible to everyone you chat with (you can change that setting in the settings of Signal). There is only one exception: People who have your number saved in their phone\u2019s contacts will still see your phone number since they already know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in the end registering with a phone number just leads to one small piece of data: Signal itself knows that this phone number is registered with Signal. But since everything is end-to-end encrypted, that\u2019s where it stops. Your messages, media, profile, your group memberships, who you talk to all this information is encrypted and hidden from Signal. This is even true for your contact list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signal kennt deine Kontakte nicht<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It seems to be logical: In order to determine which of your contacts are already on Signal, Signal must know your address book, right? If that would be true that would be a serious privacy problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately that is not the case for SIgnal. As Signal states on its auf seinen Support-Seiten erkl\u00e4rt<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Signal hat einen vertraulichen Kontakterkennungsprozess entwickelt,<\/a> mit dem Signal-Kunden und -Kundinnen auf effiziente und verl\u00e4ssliche Weise feststellen k\u00f6nnen, ob es sich bei den Kontakten in ihrem Adressbuch um Signal-User handelt, ohne die Kontakte in ihrem Adressbuch f\u00fcr den Signal-Dienst offenzulegen. Sobald dein Mobiltelefon wei\u00df, welche deiner Kontakte Signal nutzen, kann es dich optional benachrichtigen, wenn ein neuer Kontakt Signal nutzt.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Signal hat erhebliche technische Anstrengungen unternommen, um dieses Problem zu l\u00f6sen und gleichzeitig benutzerfreundlich zu sein und deine Daten zu sch\u00fctzen. Signal-Gr\u00fcnder Moxie Marlinspike hat die technischen Details und allgemeinen \u00dcberlegungen in zwei ausf\u00fchrlichen Blogbeitr\u00e4gen erl\u00e4utert. Wenn du an weiteren Details interessiert bist, findest du diese hier<\/a> und hier<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zusammenfassung<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These findings can be summarized as follows: Registering with a phone number brings large benefits and very few drawbacks. But with Signal Login, a phone number is no longer required if you don’t want to provide one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of registering with a phone number<\/h3>\n\n\n\n