Signal adds zero-knowledge proofs for phone-free registration

Signal announced that registration without a phone number will use zero-knowledge proofs, and the HN thread immediately split into two camps. One camp pointed to molly.im as having already solved the underlying problems, including Signal's use of Google and Apple notification services. The other camp asked the simplest possible question: can you actually register without a phone number yet, or is this still theoretical?

The skepticism about ZK as a privacy magic word was blunt. Multiple commenters said waving hands and saying 'zero knowledge' is not the same as being private, and that without implementation details the announcement means nothing. The gap between the marketing framing and the technical substance annoyed people who have been waiting for this feature for years.

This is part of a broader frustration with privacy infrastructure. The XCancel suspension thread showed X using legal pressure to shut down a Nitter instance that let people read Twitter without logging in. The demand for read-without-tracking is real. The supply of durable, trustworthy infrastructure to deliver it keeps getting picked off.