I’m eligible for the US Lifeline program to get a phone number for free. I would use it on websites that require a phone number, like Discord, which doesn’t accept numbers on services like Google Voice, and replace my personal phone number with it wherever necessary. And I would start using my personal phone number only with friends and family. I would NOT be using a provided lifeline phone, but rather a sim on my iPhone.
What’s the big deal making people use Discord? I’ve never used it or felt that I had to.
I think I wouldn’t use Lifeline for this, given all the rigamarole? Would other VOIP numbers work? Could you just get another SIM and use it as a throwaway number?
For me it’s the main way to stay in touch with many of my friends. In an ideal world we’d all be talking on a private foss platform but it’s hard to get everyone to migrate.
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In the US (OP’s post was somewhat US-specific), I haven’t had trouble paying cash for prepaid sim cards. Those services tend to be on the expensive side, but I suppose you don’t have to keep the number active after your Discord signup.
I would have suggested silent.link , while you can get a number not tied to your identity via esim, the main focus of numbers is a receiver for text and calls(also because it avoid people creating spam phone calls/txt). Which was originally for 2fa that only had cell # as an option. Also a number requires the user to be vigilant in paying their annual for it or they can lose the number. Also I think they can only cater for users in US, Canada and maybe UK.
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