Regulatory Compliance: Phone numbers provide a common identifier for compliance with "Know Your Customer" (KYC) regulations and for law enforcement in criminal investigations, as demonstrated by Telegram's updated policy. This regulatory role will likely persist.
6. Challenges to Full Detachment
Phone numbers are incredibly pervasive and simple to understand, even for non-tech-savvy users globally.
Accessibility: They don't require a smartphone or internet connection for basic SMS verification (though Telegram itself needs internet).
Migration Challenges: Migrating billions of users from phone-number-centric identities to entirely new DID systems would be a monumental undertaking, requiring significant infrastructure changes and user education.
In conclusion, the future of phone numbers in messaging apps like Telegram points towards a less central, less public role. While they might not disappear entirely due to their foundational utility and regulatory importance, we will increasingly see them relegated to backend identification and security verification, with users primarily interacting telegram number database through usernames or even entirely new, decentralized digital identities. The emphasis will continue to shift towards greater user control, enhanced privacy, and more secure, diversified authentication methods.Beyond the Phone Number: Telegram's Identity System
Introduction
Telegram has become one of the most popular messaging platforms in the world, known for its focus on privacy and security. While many messaging apps require users to sign up with a phone number, Telegram takes a different approach with its innovative identity system that goes beyond traditional methods of verification. In this article, we will explore how Telegram's identity system works and why it sets the platform apart from its competitors.