Most people want an easy way to find and connect with others on Wire to start chatting, talking and sharing. When signing up we try to connect them with friends that are already using the app.

Some, however, prefer a bit more privacy.

They want to protect their identity and only connect to very few trusted people. The typical use case is parents setting up accounts for their kids, journalists wanting to protect their sources, or activists under surveillance — LGBT communities in some countries, for example.

Wire does not require a phone number to register, and secondly people don’t have to share their phone contacts with the Wire app.

Here’s how to get set up for maximum privacy:

Create a new email address. Protonmail is great for this. Use this email to register a Wire account at app.wire.com (on a computer) OR on a tablet where no phone number is required to sign up. Download Wire on your phone and sign in with the account you just created. Don’t give Wire access to the contacts on your device(s). Choose a display name that won’t give away your identity. Choose a random @username — this handle is what you share with others so they can connect with you.

Follow these steps and none of your phone contacts will receive notifications that you’re using Wire. The only way to connect with you is if you share your @username.

For more info on how Wire protects your privacy read our Privacy Policy and we’ve also published a very detailed privacy whitepaper.