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ICQ is an ancient instant messaging service available in application and online forms. It’s the oldest surviving messenger, first released in 1996 by Mirabilis. It’s owned by the Russian VK company since 2010. An Israeli creation, ICQ became crazy popular among Eastern European users. The current form of ICQ accommodates about 11 million active users, largely Europeans. It’s a small yet dedicated solution for instant messaging. Messenger releases new versions on a regular basis, and its userbase continues its steady growth.
Benefits of ICQ Messenger
The ICQ messenger is a worthy alternative to bigger messengers, like WhatsApp, Viber, or Facebook Messenger. It’s fast, stable, has similar features, and offers deep-end encryption. It’s not superior to similar apps, but certainly not worse. So, what is ICQ? The messenger is a simple app designed for texting your friends, family or colleagues. The usual features are all present, including group chats, personal chats, voice calls, and video conversations. ICQ doesn’t offer many unique functions, but you’ll find the experience satisfactory.
The prominent benefits of the ICQ experience include:
- Speed. The messages are sent with little delay.
- Stability. The voice calls and general connection are maintained with pristine stability.
- Encryption. The app has excellent hacker protection.
- Design. The interface has a common but attractive design.
Is ICQ safe? Yes, but people occasionally raise certain privacy concerns. It’s a Russian-owned app that agreed to work with the country’s security services. It means certain data can be shared with the establishment at a single request. While it’s not widespread, it is a sound argument against giving excessive private info to ICQ.
Registering an ICQ Account
Sadly, ICQ requires an active phone number. Other info is also necessary during registration, but the number is an unskippable step. Completing the registration is impossible without it, meaning that users must share a piece of deeply private info to create an ICQ account.
It’s a tough bargain even ignoring the alleged privacy violations. It’s unwise to share a personal, actively used mobile number with many different apps. Besides clogging your inbox with logging and registration messages, you risk data theft. Registering without a number is impossible, but you should explore the alternatives.
The phone data has limited uses in the ICQ messenger. People can import contacts from the mobile device connected to the submitted number. ICQ also uses numbers for security measures: to restore a stolen account or reset a password. While not unimportant, privacy is more significant in the long term. So, there’s a good reason to give your number to ICQ.
But what can you do? There are alternatives. Virtual numbers, spare SIM cards, and eSIM cards are neat solutions. Of them, the first choice is perfect if you want to create an app account. Other solutions aren’t bad, but virtual phones are the best way to create an ICQ account. So let’s find out why.
Why use virtual numbers for ICQ
Virtual numbers are a cloud-based innovation. Such numbers are not tied to a specific SIM card, making their use completely anonymous and secure. This type of mobile number is the most effective, cheap and easy to use. Unlike a regular number, a virtual number can be purchased online in a matter of moments.
SMS-man gives you the opportunity to get a virtual number to choose from 180 different countries. This solution is ideal for registering anonymous accounts in social networks, messengers, dating apps and other resources. For example, you can register anonymously in Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal and others.
Here’s how to buy a virtual number to join ICQ messenger:
- Register at sms-man.com and log into your account.
- Find the option “top up my account” and make a deposit.
- Choose the appropriate country and “ICQ” service on the homepage.
- Click on “Buy” button next to the selected service to add the virtual number to the history section.
- Copy the phone number you bought, so you can use it to sign up for an account.
- To get a confirmation code, go back to the SMS-man platform and click “Receive SMS”.
- Use the code you received to complete the registration.
So following these simple steps you can get an account without giving your private phone number