Using a VOIP SMS telephone number as your Signal identifier

I think the best identifier to use with a messaging app is a VOIP SMS telephone number.

The identifier that Signal uses is a cellular telephone number.  I am very glad to tell you, however, that you don’t really have to use a traditional cellular telephone number.  For example for my Signal service I don’t actually use a cellular number, I use instead a VOIP number that happens to have SMS service enabled.  That VOIP number is not linked to any SIM card.  My VOIP provider (VOIP.MS) uses two-factor authentication and, because it is not a cellular provider, is not going to fall prey to a SIM swap attempt.  (See Being smart about SMS two-factor authentication.)  This protective step costs me only 85¢ per month.  I recommend it for all of your SMS two-factor authentication and I recommend it for your Signal service.

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