Telegram's most recent innovation directly addresses phone number privacy at the point of registration:
Blockchain-Based Ownership: Anonymous +888 numbers are non-traditional phone numbers purchased and owned on the TON (The Open Network) blockchain via Fragment. Their ownership is decentralized and transparently recorded on the public ledger, not tied to traditional telecom carriers.
Out-of-Band Verification: When a user registers telegram number database with a +888 number, the verification code is sent directly to their TON wallet or the Fragment platform, bypassing traditional SMS or voice call networks entirely. This fundamentally removes the phone number's link to a real-world SIM or identity for account creation.
4. User-Centric Privacy Controls
While not strictly infrastructural, these settings are deeply integrated with the technical underpinnings to manage phone number visibility:
Granular Visibility Settings: The options "Who can see my phone number?" and "Who can find me by my number?" (Nobody, My Contacts, Everybody) are enforced by Telegram's backend. When a user queries another user's profile, the server consults these settings to determine whether to display the phone number, rather than the client app making the decision.
Username (Pseudonymity): Usernames are a server-side feature that allows a public, discoverable identity without exposing the underlying phone number, contingent on the user's privacy settings.
5. Emphasis on Minimal Data Collection
Telegram states that it adheres to a principle of collecting only the minimum necessary user data required for the service to function securely and reliably. For phone numbers, this means primarily for authentication and contact discovery (if enabled).