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Encrypted messaging without a phone number

A practical comparison for people who do not want to hand over a phone number just to send a private message.

Most “private” messengers still begin with a phone number. That is an identity link before the first message is sent, and it is often stored, verified or reused for account recovery. Markero Chat was built around a smaller signup surface: a username and a password, no phone number and no email address.

Quick comparison

	Markero Chat	Signal	WhatsApp	Telegram
Phone number required	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
E2EE by default	Yes	Yes	Yes	No — secret chats only
Server holds message plaintext	No	No	No	Cloud chats are not E2EE
EU-hosted	Yes	No	No	Various
Third-party audit	Not yet	Yes	Varies	Varies

Competitor details are a simplified summary of public documentation as of October 2026. Check each project’s current documentation before making a decision. “Audited” does not mean “unhackable”.

Why the phone number matters

A phone number is not just a login. It can be a real-name link, a SIM-swap target, a recovery channel and a piece of metadata that connects an account to a person. Removing it does not make a messenger anonymous — the server can still see IP addresses and message timing — but it removes one unnecessary identity requirement from the signup path.

Where Markero fits

Username-only accounts: no phone number, no email, no contact upload.
On-device encryption: PGP Curve25519 keypair generated in the browser; the server stores ciphertext.
Split key handling: the private key is wrapped with a client-only key-wrap secret, protected by a password-derived key; login TOTP is separate.
EU hosting: infrastructure in the European Union.
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Where Markero is not the right choice

You need a mature, independently audited messenger. Markero has not had a third-party security audit. Signal is the safer default for many high-risk threat models.
You need a huge ecosystem. Markero is a small project; Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram have far larger networks.
You need anonymity from the operator. No phone number is not the same as no metadata. Read the threat model.
You need a solution for a whole organization right now. Evaluate the security, compliance and support requirements first.

Honest positioning: Markero competes on signup privacy and EU hosting — not on having the largest network or a third-party audit. If those trade-offs do not fit your threat model, use Signal.

Questions

Can I use an encrypted messenger without a phone number?

Yes. Markero Chat creates username-only accounts and does not ask for a phone number or email address. Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram require a phone number for normal signup.

Is Markero a replacement for Signal?

Markero is an alternative for people who specifically want username-only signup and EU hosting. Signal is a mature, widely reviewed project with a larger ecosystem. Markero has not had a third-party security audit yet, so it should not be treated as equivalent for high-risk threat models.

Does no phone number mean anonymous?

No. Username-only signup reduces the personal data required, but the server still processes metadata such as usernames, message timing and IP addresses used for rate limiting and stored in clearnet session records. No phone number does not mean no metadata.

Is Markero end-to-end encrypted?

Yes. Messages and files are encrypted on the device with PGP Curve25519. The server stores ciphertext. The private key is wrapped with a client-only key-wrap secret, protected by a password-derived key; login TOTP is separate.

Encrypted messaging without a phone number

Quick comparison

Why the phone number matters

Where Markero fits

Where Markero is not the right choice

Questions

Can I use an encrypted messenger without a phone number?

Is Markero a replacement for Signal?

Does no phone number mean anonymous?

Is Markero end-to-end encrypted?

Try a username-only account