So does Telegram, last time I checked?

I always found it funny - here's a privacy focused alternative to Whatsapp! But we'll need your phone number, first. Why? Oh, y'know, to limit spam and stuff. 'cuz that definitely can't be done any other way.

Sure, I can get prepaid cards. Or I can just use Whatsapp. If I do anything illegal, I can do better than Telegram.

If you want signal without using a phone number, you can use a fork of signal called Session(https://getsession.org/). That's the power of opensource :)

I feel that the average person would be inclined to use signal more if it required a phone number than otherwise.

Yes, a significant flaw, however, it's not that difficult to source a disposable phone number.

It's impossible to get a phone number without a personal ID in a large amount of western countries (number of which is increasing).

That very much varies with country. Most countries I’m familiar with the rules for require ID when buying pre-pay SIM cards these days.

A prepaid SIM having the same security checks as a bank account definitely felt sour. And for some reason people think they have any privacy from the government.

Is this the case now in the US? Is the "burner phone" a thing of the past?

My experience was in Germany. They checked my passport, face, name, address via PostIdent video.

Same procedure as with N26 and ING online banks, though the latter didn't work due to connection problems so I had to do it at the post office.

I like prepaid because I avoid contracts whenever I can. And I liked that I can get one fast.

I understand the reasoning - they can tie an identity to any SIM card and find you pretty fast if your number/IMEI pops up in some suspicious communications, but still, privacy blah blah.

This is the country that recently was against the EU wide chat surveillance directive that surfaces every few years now.

It really depends. Most prepaid phones require some sort of identify verification in the US. There may be a few that you can buy with cash, but i don't have the cash to find out which ones. I think it is also important to note that they are probably doing some sort of GPS and tower tracking, so even if you buy prepaid... activating it and what not probably discloses enough location information to help identify you.

No. I believe they may be required to ask for a name on activation, but definitely not to verify it.

Individual retailers and service providers may have different policies, of course.

or you can just use session