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…
More and more, I’m finding that it isn’t enough to just give one of my alias addresses. I’ll make my account and then immediately end up locked out unless I give them my phone number (looking at you, Discord) or upload my ID/take some live selfies (looking at you, Slowly), or sometimes both (looking at you, LinkedIn).
I miss the days when I could just browse and use the internet anonymously