just to get it out of the way: yes, i know i can use a spam email/phone number. yes, i know i can opt out of promotional emails/texts. that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. i don’t need a growing list of empty accounts for websites i only spend an hour (or less) browsing through. don’t even get me started on restaurants that ask for your phone number when you scan their QR code…
tell that to tumblr and deviantart. you want to look around? too bad, sign up! such a pain in the ass.
I haven’t been on DeviantArt in years, so if that changed I never noticed.
I do often browse Tumblr without being logged in, tho. It just has a banner asking you to login or sign up the entire time. Doesn’t actually require doing so.
this is what deviantart does:
as for tumblr, i’ll get the same prompt after a certain point.