I just can't get past the "You must have a valid phone number to use Anthropic’s services."
Umm... why?
Nobody else in the AI space wants to track my number.
I'm sure Anthropic has their "reasons". I just doubt it is one that I would like.
Umm... why?
Nobody else in the AI space wants to track my number.
I'm sure Anthropic has their "reasons". I just doubt it is one that I would like.
Whether they are serious about it or use it as an excuse to collect more PII (or both/neither), collecting verified phone numbers presumably allows them to demonstrate compliance.
[0] https://cset.georgetown.edu/article/dont-forget-the-catch-al...
In the US, other locations may/may not have the same export controls. Base your AI business in one of the non-US countries and it'll be legal to not keep strict controls on who is using your service.
> Umm... why?
https://support.anthropic.com/en/articles/8287232-why-do-i-n...
My guess is, these models are incredibly expensive to run, Claude has a fairly generous free tier, and phone numbers are one of the easiest ways to significantly reduce the number of duplicate accounts.
> Nobody else in the AI space wants to track my number.
Given they're likely hoovering up all of the data you're sending to them, and they have your email address to identify you, this seems like an odd hill to die on.