That also worries me. I did want to sign up, but refuse to give my personal phone number to any platform. So, I will not sign up. Each person has their own level of what personal info they are willing to give up. I guess a lot of us here are more cautious, as we should be.
You are wise! You probably remember the internet of 2000, when you could sign up for a website without a phone number. Hell, you didn't even need an email address. Just a username and password, which you provided upon logging in. Why would your real life persona need to be "verified" in order to read things, rate posts, watch videos, make posts and comments? Yet now it's all about proving you are who you say you are, and about using real first and last names. I remember in 2010 or so when YT began getting shitty. 2012 or so was shadowbanning, and also the start of the "tell us who you are" nonsense, which led to Google+ and the loss of comments unless you had it, and then the removal of Google+ because nobody used or liked it and just had it to make YT comments. Then the 2018 admission of shadowbanning, and the deplatforming of anyone not towing the line. Nightmare.
"Why would your real life persona need to be "verified" in order to read things, rate posts, watch videos, make posts and comments? "
Easy. Control my friend. That is what they always want. Just like in China.
I've emailed to support at parler.com and asked them to justify why they need the phone number for sign-up. I also mentioned that this requirement is holding back a lot of potential users from entering their platform. In addition, I told them that many are holding back not just because of privacy, but also safety; since they cannot 100% guarantee they won't be hacked (and hence their users personal phone numbers) then this pretty much amounts to an absurd requirement. Lastly, if they tell me that phone is required for 'authentication' then I call BS on this, as it can be done adequately via email (this is only a platform for posting info/comments, after all). Perhaps, arguably, only 2-factor authentication should be required with phone such as banking/brokerage/crypto - in that case I think it is "justifiable" - otherwise, not so.
Yes, they require a phone verification via text when creating an account but no, you don't need a phone to use Parler. I forgot I made a Parler account in 2019. I must have forgotten my password or who knows. But I reset my password, did a phone verification, and was able to get back into my Parler account a second ago. So, I guess I was able to answer my own question regarding Parler. Who owns Parler? I don't know.
Okay, so you're aware of the lack of privacy. Myself, I don't bother with platforms that blatantly destroy my privacy like it's some sort of safety feature. It would have to do some pretty amazing things to make me want to verify a phone number. I'm curious... what can it do that other platforms like Flote can't?
Good question. I'd also like to know why they require the phone number. If they say it is for 'authentication' purposes, then email authentication/verification can do just fine. For this reason, I haven't signed up. Wish their team would consider removing this obligation for sign-up.
Technically speaking, you can buy a burner phone, a pay per minute SIM card with an unlocked phone that can take 2 more SIM cards simultaneously plus the ability to remove the battery and SD cards on top of that. A phone is simply a computer. So, have multiple phones. Do verification on one phone and do the talking and the texting on your other phone. Keep one of your phones at home at all times.
Email and phone is the same in many ways. There are phone apps that let you talk to people for free when you have WIFI. You can also get pay per minute SIM cards that can be removed and taken out of the phone. Don't get the phones that lock the SIM cards and the batteries inside. They still have phones out there that let you take the cards and the batteries out of your phone freely. Also, people should root their phones to remove the Android or Apple operating systems (OS) and replace the OS with Linux, with Ubuntu, with something that could be better in some ways.
That also worries me. I did want to sign up, but refuse to give my personal phone number to any platform. So, I will not sign up. Each person has their own level of what personal info they are willing to give up. I guess a lot of us here are more cautious, as we should be.
You are wise! You probably remember the internet of 2000, when you could sign up for a website without a phone number. Hell, you didn't even need an email address. Just a username and password, which you provided upon logging in. Why would your real life persona need to be "verified" in order to read things, rate posts, watch videos, make posts and comments? Yet now it's all about proving you are who you say you are, and about using real first and last names. I remember in 2010 or so when YT began getting shitty. 2012 or so was shadowbanning, and also the start of the "tell us who you are" nonsense, which led to Google+ and the loss of comments unless you had it, and then the removal of Google+ because nobody used or liked it and just had it to make YT comments. Then the 2018 admission of shadowbanning, and the deplatforming of anyone not towing the line. Nightmare.
Easy. Control my friend. That is what they always want. Just like in China.
I've emailed to support at parler.com and asked them to justify why they need the phone number for sign-up. I also mentioned that this requirement is holding back a lot of potential users from entering their platform. In addition, I told them that many are holding back not just because of privacy, but also safety; since they cannot 100% guarantee they won't be hacked (and hence their users personal phone numbers) then this pretty much amounts to an absurd requirement. Lastly, if they tell me that phone is required for 'authentication' then I call BS on this, as it can be done adequately via email (this is only a platform for posting info/comments, after all). Perhaps, arguably, only 2-factor authentication should be required with phone such as banking/brokerage/crypto - in that case I think it is "justifiable" - otherwise, not so.
Yes, they require a phone verification via text when creating an account but no, you don't need a phone to use Parler. I forgot I made a Parler account in 2019. I must have forgotten my password or who knows. But I reset my password, did a phone verification, and was able to get back into my Parler account a second ago. So, I guess I was able to answer my own question regarding Parler. Who owns Parler? I don't know.
Okay, so you're aware of the lack of privacy. Myself, I don't bother with platforms that blatantly destroy my privacy like it's some sort of safety feature. It would have to do some pretty amazing things to make me want to verify a phone number. I'm curious... what can it do that other platforms like Flote can't?
Yeah. Agreed. I prefer Flote, Gab, Hive.
I'm like you on this. Not gonna share my phone #. The smartphone is the #1 spying device use by gov't & the technocratic elite, bar none.
Yeah. A big Trojan Horse like Windows and Apple.
Good question. I'd also like to know why they require the phone number. If they say it is for 'authentication' purposes, then email authentication/verification can do just fine. For this reason, I haven't signed up. Wish their team would consider removing this obligation for sign-up.
Technically speaking, you can buy a burner phone, a pay per minute SIM card with an unlocked phone that can take 2 more SIM cards simultaneously plus the ability to remove the battery and SD cards on top of that. A phone is simply a computer. So, have multiple phones. Do verification on one phone and do the talking and the texting on your other phone. Keep one of your phones at home at all times.
Email and phone is the same in many ways. There are phone apps that let you talk to people for free when you have WIFI. You can also get pay per minute SIM cards that can be removed and taken out of the phone. Don't get the phones that lock the SIM cards and the batteries inside. They still have phones out there that let you take the cards and the batteries out of your phone freely. Also, people should root their phones to remove the Android or Apple operating systems (OS) and replace the OS with Linux, with Ubuntu, with something that could be better in some ways.