why does telegram want my phone number

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By forcing every user to verify a real phone number, Telegram forces each user to prove their identity by associating their account with a real world phone number. Messaging apps need to verify the identity of a real person to reduce risk in illegal use.

You can search contact by @username. Telegram has no passwords implemented. The whole logging in is built on phone availability. At least you must be a real person and have a number for your account. Some bots can’t fill up the system with spam. Sorry, something went wrong.

Sorry, something went wrong. The @username concept was implemented in order to allow people to communicate on Telegram without having to give up their phone number. You still need a phone number to authenticate, which is good, because otherwise you’d be having much more spam bots contact you.

Read more While the app is typically known for its privacy features, there is one rather glaring security hole in Telegram 鈥?when you register for an account with the service, you have to provide your phone number in order to verify your account.