Guide
Messengers you can use without a phone number
Most messaging apps ask for your phone number before anything else. A small group of messengers does not. They give you an identifier that exists only inside the app, and you decide who gets it. This guide lists the main messengers that work without a phone number, explains how they differ, and shows why we think Morse Messenger is the one to start with.
Get Morse MessengerWhy a phone number matters
A phone number is more than a way to log in.
It is usually registered to your name, it stays with you for years, and it is the same number you give to banks, employers and delivery services.
When a messenger uses it as your identity, every conversation is connected to that number.
People who have the number can also find you in the app.
Messengers without a phone number break that link. The account stands on its own.
What replaces the number
Instead of a phone number, these apps create an identifier for you.
It may be called an ID, an account ID or an address. It is generated by the app, it carries no personal information, and it is not listed in a public directory.
To start a conversation, you give it to the other person: as text, as a link or as a QR code.
This takes one more step than tapping a name in your contacts. In return, nobody can reach you just because they have your number.
Morse Messenger: no number, no SIM card, nothing to link
Morse gives every account a Morse ID. You create the account without a phone number or email, and you share your Morse ID, a QR code or an invitation with the people you want to talk to.
Because no phone number is involved, Morse needs no SIM card and no mobile plan. It works on Wi-Fi alone.
There is no address-book upload and no public user directory, and no option to add either. Contacts are always added on purpose.
Messages, photos, videos and voice messages, group chats and voice and video calls are end-to-end encrypted, with post-quantum key exchange.
You can add an optional encrypted profile that only approved contacts see.
Morse is funded by a user subscription and is available for iPhone, with Android coming soon.
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Threema
Threema gives each user a randomly generated Threema ID. Linking a phone number or email address is optional, and so is synchronizing your address book.
Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted, the apps are open source, and the company and its servers are in Switzerland. You pay once for the app.
Threema does not offer disappearing messages, and its published cryptography does not include post-quantum key exchange. Morse has both.
Session
Session creates an Account ID when you sign up. No phone number or email is needed.
Messages are routed through a decentralized onion-routing network, similar to Tor. Session is free and open source.
Voice and video calls are an opt-in beta in which your IP address is shared with the person you call, and Session says its protocol does not yet provide forward secrecy.
In Morse, encrypted calls are a standard feature.
SimpleX Chat
SimpleX Chat goes a step further and describes itself as a network without user IDs.
There is no phone number, no username and no account identifier. People connect through an invitation link or a QR code.
It offers end-to-end encrypted messages and calls, and the project is open source, with apps for iOS, Android and desktop.
The trade-off is convenience: without an identifier there is nothing short to hand to someone. A Morse ID is a short code you can read out or type.
What about Signal and Telegram?
Signal and Telegram are often mentioned in this context, so it is worth being precise.
Both let you hide your phone number from other people and use a username instead.
Both still require a phone number to create the account.
So the number is hidden from the people you talk to, but it remains part of how the account is registered. If keeping your number out of it is the point, they do not qualify.
Verdict
The short version
All four messengers above work without a phone number. They differ in what else you get.
Voice and video calls as a standard, end-to-end encrypted feature: Morse, Threema and SimpleX Chat. In Session they are an opt-in beta.
Disappearing messages: Morse, Session and SimpleX Chat. Threema does not offer them.
Post-quantum key exchange: Morse and SimpleX Chat. Threema and Session do not have it yet.
A short ID you can read out or type: Morse and Threema.
All four in one app: Morse.
That is why we recommend Morse.
Download Morse Messenger and share your Morse ID to start your first conversation.
Summary
Your number is not your identity
A messenger does not need your phone number to connect you with someone.
It needs a way to reach the right account, and that can be an identifier you share on purpose.
That is the idea Morse is built on. Download Morse Messenger and try it.
FAQ
Common questions about messengers without a phone number
Related
Related guides
These pages go deeper into the topics above.
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