When it comes to communicating over long distances, I prefer Signal Messenger. While Signal does allow me to choose many of my own privacy expressions, there are many other reasons why I prefer it, which don't have to do with privacy.

One of the ways that Signal does not support my privacy expressions is that it requires me to provide and maintain a cellular phone number to keep my Signal account. While I am disappointed by that, I am constantly disappointed by forced choices in this life. This disappointment reminds me about my belief in living a life as free from coercion and compulsion that I can.

I puzzled over what to do and decided I would work at staying as private as I can while still choosing and using Signal.

Now that you can contact me on Signal at username aenorium.01 it is obvious that I successfully navigated this trade off. Here's how.

Step 1: Use Anonymous Currency

Later I will write about how the choice to use anonymous currency is required to transact in a way that allows me to retain my choice of future privacy expressions. Fortunately, obtaining cash is still possible everywhere I want to transact.

Countries like Norway, Finland, Sweden, China and South Korea are pushing hard to eliminate this fundamental building block of private life by luring their populations into using payments that allow full surveillance by authorities. Those living in such countries who hold Autonomist beliefs will need a lot of support from our community.

I'll use cash to buy a mobile device that can run Signal, and I'll buy cellular service for that device so I can register a Signal account and maintain it.

Step 2: Opt-in To Privacy Hardware

For this experiment, I bought a modern Google Pixel and an Apple iPhone. Through experimenting with these devices, I have so far found that it is impossible to preserve any semblance of choice over my privacy expressions using Apple's iPhone. With Google's Pixel, I was able to easily brainwash the device, destroying the Google software that typically runs on their phone. I replaced Google's software with software that is run by a community of privacy-minded software developers. Completing this took almost no technical know-how, beyond knowing where to get the new software from.

I'll write more about my experience with Apple, Google and GrapheneOS later. 

Step 3: Choose Privacy Partners

For a cellular service provider, I went down to a local corner shop and picked up a SIM starter pack from a pay-as-you-go mobile carrier. For just a little cash, I was able to activate the service using no identifying information whatsoever.

I believe this kind of anonymous cellular service is potentially impossible to come by in certain countries, such as Japan. Since anonymity in phone numbers is possible in some places, Signal's decision to not offer anonymous registration is most harmful to people who live in countries where privacy partners are in shortest supply. To me, Signal's decision to not serve the privacy of those people stands in direct contravention of their mission to create "open source privacy technology that protects free expression and enables secure global communication."

We Get Signal

Signal helpfully offers a download of their app directly from their website, rather than exclusively relying on app stores to distribute the Signal app.

Sadly, Signal does not accept cash donations, otherwise I would have already dropped that in the mail. A discussion of service providers that support cash payments is a post for another day.

Conclusion

I now have anonymous cellular service, an anonymous mobile device running a privacy and security focused operating system, and an encrypted messaging service that is used by well-known people all over the world who have extreme needs for protecting themselves. Anyone can contact me on that service, without needing to know my phone number.

I have not achieved perfect privacy or defeated any great enemies. Instead, I have made a great effort to protect myself and express my genuine privacy choices, which kept me in a deliberate and genuine conversation with myself while I worked through the actions. At some cost and inconvenience to me, I have selected a platform that I believe provides souls the best all-around options for protecting themselves.

I am anonymous from far more people and companies than I would have been otherwise. For that, I have more options to keep myself safe, and I could potentially help others achieve the same result. I have accomplished something small, but something important. 

Tomorrow I will keep trying for other accomplishments.