4 min read
Why Signal asks for a phone number
Signal needs a phone number to register and sends a 6-digit code by SMS or voice call. Since usernames arrived, other people don’t have to see that number.
Can you skip the phone on Signal?
There is no Signal account without a number. You can hide it: Settings › Privacy › Phone number › Who can see my number › Nobody.
Your options without a SIM card
Signal accepts many kinds of numbers, but free public SMS sites are a privacy risk: anyone who reads the code could register the account first.
- Email or Google/Apple sign-in, when the app allows it. Free, and no number at all.
- A second SIM or eSIM. Costs a monthly plan, but the number stays yours.
- A private temporary number from CoveSMS. Only you see the code, and you pay nothing if it doesn’t arrive within 20 minutes.
Step by step: get the Signal code online
- Buy a Signal number in your dashboard.
- In Signal, enter the country and number.
- Choose SMS (not voice) and wait for the code in your dashboard.
- Enter the code and set a Signal PIN when asked.
If the code doesn’t arrive
- Signal may show a captcha before sending the SMS. Finish it first.
- Avoid the voice call option: the number receives SMS only.
- No code within 20 minutes means the price goes back to your balance automatically.
After you’re in: stop depending on the number
A temporary number is single-use. Set up another way in before it closes:
- Turn on Registration Lock (Settings › Account) so nobody can re-register the number later without your PIN.
- Set a username and hide your number from everyone.
- Keep the device: re-registering Signal on a new phone needs a code on the same number.