This is my old account that I just logged in today. Just joined a server and Discord asked for email verification. Okay, that's not hard, thankfully Discord doesn't restrict email to only big providers. But then suddenly DIscord asked to verify by phone number, because "something is out of ordinary". What's out of ordinary from that??? Joining a server > Discord asks to verify > I verify.
I was losing my mind seeing people suggesting moving to Discord when Rexxit happened. Like WTF, it's even worse than Reddit. Non-indexable content, worse privacy, needing account just to access the said content, etc.
I really hate how services nowadays require your phone number just to use their service. Unfortunately most people just don't care of privacy, thanks to "I have nothing to hide" mindset.
I think the main reason people still prefer Discord over Matrix is the fact that everyone is on discord but very few people are on matrix (at least, non-tech people).
If your entire family uses Discord, your friends use Discord, your classmates use Discord, at some point you will have to use Discord too.
And if you're forced to use Discord, then why also have a Matrix account too? That's a bit redundant when you think about it