[registeredcorn]

Well sure, but does it require me to use my phone at some point in the process of account creation? That's the part I have an issue with.

I had assumed that there would be an alternative to access the service post-creation. My gripe is more with the fact that a phone is a requirement at any point.

To put it another way: imagine I had to send a letter to Signal's HQ in order to make an account. Now, obviously I'm not going to be sending and receiving letters constantly to/from Signal, but the mere fact that writing and sending a letter would be a requirement as part of the process would be at the users personal detriment. That's the point I was trying to get at - that it is forcing the user into a specific method which is undesired, arbitrary, and frustratingly unnecessary.

[spurgu]

Yeah agreed, as I mentioned elsewhere I don't see why phone number should be required. It's a good default (esp. for non-technical users) to use phone number and contacts (= "social network"), but I really don't see what the problem is with using email or just username/password combo and then adding contacts manually from wherever. Why not have that option? Most people would likely still use their phone number for this.