You currently need a phone number to sign up for Telegram. Add an option to sign up using an email address or another method, like some messengers do (e.g., Wire, Matrix, Threema, Session).
Potential spam issues could be mitigated by:
Only allowing addresses from major email providers at first and slowly expanding reach if it's manageable.
Automatically limiting such accounts from contacting strangers until their perform some additional actions.
Allowing group admins to prevent such accounts from posting by default.
Use Cases
Avoiding an identifier tied to your identity, hiding identity from governments or people who know your number.
Workaround
Use a virtual phone number.
Warning: Do NOT use temporary numbers to connect to your account, as you may lose access to your account when you lose access to the number.
Then by all means use a disposable credit card number. Or use crypto to buy premium—it’s not enabled today but almost certainly will be soon given all the tie-ins with TON
ah yes. force people who dont want to give the companies that screwed them out of certain services in rural areas money or pay telegram money. im sure bell and rogers monopolies already have enough money. they dont need a billionaire enabler.
Crypto can be tracked too and sometimes they can be too difficult/expensive to obtain. In any case even if it won't resolve all the problems related to crypto there are a few one, just like Monero, that are focused on privacy and security (and in that case Telegram should incentives them).
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I wasn’t so much trying to solve anything as much as I was trying to compromise and meet the devs halfway on the issue of spam account creations.
In any case even if it won't resolve all the problems related to crypto there are a few one, just like Monero, that are focused on privacy and security (and in that case Telegram should incentives them).
IDENA Proof-of-Person Blockchain as auth method... #22195
But major email providers tend to require a phone number.
No restrictions on email providers should be held.