Hi plusquamperfekt.<p>I don&#x27;t know your mail address or telephone number. If this message manages to reach you - can you explain your point a bit more?<p>If the private key would _be_ the identify, that&#x27;d be awesome. And maybe I fail to understand ChatSecure&#x2F;Signal. I&#x27;d be glad to be corrected. But as far as I understand, that system ties a user to a mobile number, because &#x27;that is as good a unique identifier as we get&#x27; and uses that instead. I think Threema does what you describe - or at least expects you to exchange keys via QR code when you physically meet?<p>My gripe with telephone numbers is this: I don&#x27;t want to be tied to an identity I cannot control, to an identify that is public knowledge and unchangeable. I want to contact people via IM without them being able to call me.<p>Phone numbers are for calls (okay, texts for historical reasons).