Orbeo
A Telegram alternative that needs no phone number
Telegram lets you hide your number from other people, but you still need one to create an account — and so do WhatsApp, Signal and Viber. If the number itself is the problem, you need a messenger that never asks for it.
What is similar to Telegram
- You are reached by a short name, not a number: in Orbeo it is your Orbeo ID.
- Groups, channels, stickers, voice messages, replies and reactions.
- Chats sync between devices: sign in on a new phone or in the browser and the history is there.
- A browser version and desktop apps for Mac and Windows.
What is different
- No phone number at sign-up at all — not hidden, simply absent. No email either.
- No contact upload and no “people you may know”: nobody is told you joined.
- No ads in chats or channels.
- Recovery works through a twelve-word phrase instead of an SMS code.
What Orbeo is smaller at
Orbeo is young: there are no bots, no secret chats and no huge public communities yet. Calls work in the apps, not in the browser. If the people you write to are all in Telegram, you will still need to invite them — the upside is that one link is enough.
What Orbeo is not
Orbeo does not have end-to-end encryption. The connection is encrypted, but messages are stored on the server in a readable form — that is how they reach your second device. Orbeo does not ask who you are, but it is not a tool for secrets that must be hidden from the service itself. For that, use a messenger built for it. Details are in the privacy policy.
Open Orbeo in the browseror download the app — Android, iPhone, Mac, Windows