Right now, these options are in beta, and will be rolling out to everyone in the coming weeks.
Pls give me the goodness
Can I register an account without a phone number yet?
Because I don’t have one.
Update: nope. Deleted SO fast.
I believe they use phone numbers to avoid spam
both you and the people you are chatting with on Signal will need to be using the most updated version of the app to take advantage of them
If someone isn’t using the latest app, does this mean they will still be able to see any accounts phone number? I suppose if you don’t update, you can’t add anyone without knowing their beforehand anyway
Also from the article (clicking the dots in the text)
Each version of the Signal app expires after about 90 days, after which people on the older version will need to update to the latest version of Signal. This means that in about 90 days, your phone number privacy settings will be honored by everyone using an official Signal app.