Ah. I took your last line as meaning that your entire comment was sarcastic, sorry. I deleted my comment.
Sorry for what you went through, I can relate to how shitty that must have been for you.
I hope things have improved for you and you’re in a better place now.
Yes it uses your phone number. You now have the option to use a username though.
Personally, while I totally understand the criticism, this is not an attack vector I am concerned with. I want a private messenger that hides the content and metadata of my messages from ad companies, spying neighbors, and the government. Signal does all of this.