Emails

Emails everywhere

*Introduction*

Why do almost all websites and services require an email address for registration? Some providers even ask for a phone number. What about privacy?

*Description*

Why is it so important for these services to have this data? But when you want to create an email, the email providers want another email or even a phone number from the users. Some providers even block connections with a VPN or anonymization software.

*Enumeration*

Here are some examples that do not ask for this data:

• ProtonMail
• Tutanota
• Simplex Chat
• …

In contrast, these providers want your data:

• ChatGPT
• Telegramm
• Signal
• WhatsApp
• Kick
• kik
• Line
• Google Services
• GMX
• Yandex
• Microsoft Services
• bitchute
• …

Of course, banks and services that deal with money ask for such information, like address, email, phone number, etc. But other services have nothing to do with this and should not ask for such data.

*Lie*

It is claimed that these measures serve to keep spammers, fraudsters, and bots at bay. This claim might make sense for a phone number, but asking for an email for an email is contradictory. Why else would someone create an email if they already have one? The claim that a phone number is necessary to test for bots is also contradictory. What if someone doesn’t have a phone number?

There are better methods to filter out bots, such as using Captchas or other tests like math problems or transcribing text.

Giving out these data and more personal data on the internet is dangerous because if every user gives their data to every provider, who guarantees that the providers won’t sell it to scammers in the dark web or to advertisers? Or that it won’t be leaked through a hack. Why do many services want to destroy anonymity? The risks increase because, with the phone number, providers can now “theoretically” track the customer further. It is particularly concerning in countries where the term “hate speech” is misused through political propaganda or where the country has very strong censorship.

*Solution*

One solution would be to avoid websites that want a lot of information. But websites could also implement a different system. The system would work as follows: Every user is automatically logged in or registered as a guest without a password. Then, if you want to, you create an account. The registration has an option that generates an automatic username and password. New accounts are then frozen for 2 weeks to filter out fraudsters. Later, if you want to, you can add an email. An account that has been inactive for 2 years can be deleted to remove uninterested users. Of course, this must be mentioned in the terms of service.

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