OMG, you guys. Signal finally has usernames, and phone number privacy.
Ephemeral usernames instead of phone numbers safeguard privacy — and makes the Signal messenger app even harder to subpoena.
With the new version of Signal, you will no longer broadcast your phone number to everyone you send messages to by default, though you can choose to if you want. Your phone number will still be displayed to contacts who already have it stored in their phones. Going forward, however, when you start a new conversation on Signal, your number won’t be shared at all: Contacts will just see the name you use when you set up your Signal profile. So even if your contact is using a custom Signal client, for example, they still won’t be able to discover your phone number since the service will never tell it to them.
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the new Signal usernames are designed to be ephemeral. You can set one, delete it, and change it to something else, as often as you want
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You can also create a link or QR code that people can scan to add you as a contact. These, too, are ephemeral. You can send someone your Signal link in an insecure channel, and, as soon as they contact you, you can reset your link and get a new one, without needing to change your username.
