I have nothing against Signal. I just don’t have access to a phone number right now. I fully intend to use the Signal when I get a number. I know there is no silver bullet, no absolutes in the privacy world but I’m looking for any messengers that are generally considered to be private and secure on Android that I can try to convince my friends and family to use. I have a mid - low threat model, it’s just the thought of giving the Zuck anymore of my family’s data makes my skin crawl.
a work around I use is text verified.com , costs like 2 bucks and then you can activate signal. Catch being that you can’t reuse the number to verify again, so its only a temporary solution but I have setup a bunch of accounts that way.