Joining a popular internet community without using Discord is pretty hard these days. Everyone’s switched over because it’s easier and attracts a larger crowd, but for those who have their privacy in mind, it can be uncomfortable.
If you’re a Linux user, you use a VPN or Tor, or your own email domain, then there is a pretty high chance of you getting flagged by Discord and forced to provide a phone number.
And “forced” is pretty appropriate in this context. No amount of customer support will get your account reactivated. They force you to provide any valid phone number. The support team tells you to use the phone number of a family member if need be.
There are ways to avoid getting your account flagged:
- Do not do weird spoofing of browser data
- Do not use a flagged IP (Good luck!)
- Do not join a bunch of servers in very little time
- Do not friend request a lot of users in very little time
- Do not send messages to a lot of users in very little time
- Do not change your account info in very little time
- Do not use an unconventional email domain, use popular ones like Gmail. Proton Mail usually works, but might increase your chances of getting flagged.
In truth, if you’re trying to protect your privacy while using Discord, you will be flagged by their anti-spam system in due time, and asked for a phone number. I recommend that you buy a temporary phone number from a service like SMSPool, which permits payment using Monero.