Signal is working on a standalone version for Signal Desktop that does not require a mobile phone

I do agree that the phone number requirement is annoying, though I would also like to say that thanks to those “stupid ideas” like stickers and stories I’ve actually had wider success in getting non technical acquaintances to adopt Signal.

As @Expert4870 said:

I do admit it was a good idea for Signal require a phone number for the contact-based network effect. But once you’ve completed moving your contact list onto Signal, there’s no need to share a phone number again.

Unfortunately I don’t think spam prevention really works if you let the spammers on to begin with, thus the KYC adjacent phone number requirement.

Back to the topic at hand, it would be very nice to be able to have a Desktop Signal app which is decoupled from a Signal app on my phone. That way I could for example, have two Signal accounts and not need two instances of Signal installed on my phone.