Can You Use Signal Without a Phone Number?

Mostly no. Signal registers almost every account with a phone number: its help center says “Signal uses your existing phone number.” The only way to use Signal without a phone number is new: Signal Login, an optional Android beta that replaces the number with a pair of keys.

If you just want your personal number out of Signal, there are two simpler options: hide it behind a username, or register with a second number.

Does Signal need a phone number?

For a normal account, yes. Signal sends your registration code to the number, so it “must be able to receive an insecure SMS or phone call.” Signal Desktop doesn’t avoid this: it “must link with either Signal Android or Signal iOS”.

The terms add a rule: “You must have the rights to the phone number you use to sign up for your Signal account.” Whatever number you use, it should be one you keep.

Signal Login: Signal without a phone number

Signal’s Android beta offers another way in: “Signal Login lets you create and use a Signal account without a phone number.” You pay a one-time fee instead ($2.99 on 27 October 2026, through Google Pay or Apple Pay), and Signal gives you a 32-character Account ID and a 64-character Recovery Key (Signal’s guide).

The catches:

• No fallback. “If you lose both of these keys, Signal has no way to recover your account for you.”
• Set a username. Without one, “other users won’t be able to find or contact you on Signal.”
• No registration lock. You can add an authenticator app or a passkey instead.
• Android beta only. It needs Signal beta 8.28 or later.

Who can see your Signal phone number?

If you register with your own number, Signal limits who sees it (Signal’s guide):

• By default, “your phone number is not visible in your profile details page to people who don’t already have it saved.” But anyone who has your number can still find you on Signal.
• For more privacy, open Settings > Privacy > Phone Number. Keep Who can see my number on Nobody, then set Who can find me by my number to Nobody. People then need your username: 3 to 32 characters, ending in at least two digits. “Signal does not provide a searchable directory of usernames.”

None of this takes the number off your account: “You will still need a phone number to sign up for Signal even if you want to use a username to start chats with others in the app.”

Hide your number, use a second one or Signal Login?

How to register Signal with a second number

A PVADeals number is a real mobile number from a carrier (non-VoIP number), so Signal sees an ordinary mobile line. The SMS appears on your dashboard.

1. Create a free PVADeals account and add credits: crypto from $3, or a card through Stripe from $5.
2. Choose Signal and the United Kingdom. For a US number, rent an All services number, which works on any website.
3. Pick a rental you can keep: long-term (3, 7, 14 or 30 days, from $0.70) with auto-renew, or All services ($12.99 a month in the US; $6.99 a month or $11.99 for 3 months in the UK).
4. Enter the number in full international format, without the leading zero (+44 or +1), and wait for the SMS. Don’t tap Call me: PVADeals numbers receive SMS only.
5. Copy the code from your dashboard, where it appears as soon as it arrives.
6. Turn on registration lock in Settings > Account > Registration Lock, and memorize your PIN.

If an eligible number receives no SMS during the rental, its cost comes back to your balance automatically as store credit.

Why a 20-minute number puts your account at risk

Signal needs the number again later: “in order to reinstall or re-register Signal, you need access to SMS or calls”. Its safety advice is to “Maintain ownership of the phone number you used to get started with Signal.”

• Keep the number. A short-term number (20 minutes, from $0.09) receives the code, but reuse afterwards isn’t guaranteed. Rent long-term on auto-renew, or use All services.
• Use registration lock. It adds “a PIN that is required for account registration in addition to standard SMS-based verification,” so the code alone can’t take over your account. It “expires after 7 days of inactivity”, so keep using Signal.
• Move before you stop renting. While Signal still works on your phone, use Settings > Account > Change Phone Number. It needs an SMS to the new number, not the old one, and “You will not be able to undo this.”

Keep your personal number off Signal

A second number keeps your own number out of Signal, from $0.70 for 3 days. See our UK phone numbers and prices, read how to get a second phone number, or see our guides to WhatsApp and Telegram without a phone number.