Google Is Silently Linking Your Phone Number Across All Signed-In Accounts (androidauthority.com) 17
Google has made Android's phone-number verification opt-out, automatically verifying and associating a device's phone number with every Google account signed in on that phone, including secondary and work accounts. Android Authority reports: As spotted in a recent Reddit thread, users report receiving confirmation emails out of the blue from "noreply-phone-verification@google.com" stating that their phone number has been verified. The feature, known in Google settings as "Phone number verification," links your active phone number across all Google accounts signed in on the same phone, including secondary profiles, work accounts, and throwaway handles.
Google's support documentation has long noted that it periodically re-verifies your device's phone number to keep communication and recovery features up to date. However, this support page was updated sometime between August and October 2025 to add this rather aggressive behavior of turning on phone number verification by default, as well as adding all phone numbers to all Google accounts signed in on the device. To disable automatic phone number verification on Android, open your phone's Settings app, tap Google, and select the All Services tab. Under Privacy & Security, find Phone number verification and turn off Verify phone numbers automatically.
"[T]urning off the phone number verification toggle only prevents future linking," notes the report. "If Google has already attached your number across secondary accounts, you will need to open your Google Account Personal Info page, head to Contact info > Phone, and manually remove the number from each profile where it doesn't belong." Is this conversation helpful so far?
Google's support documentation has long noted that it periodically re-verifies your device's phone number to keep communication and recovery features up to date. However, this support page was updated sometime between August and October 2025 to add this rather aggressive behavior of turning on phone number verification by default, as well as adding all phone numbers to all Google accounts signed in on the device. To disable automatic phone number verification on Android, open your phone's Settings app, tap Google, and select the All Services tab. Under Privacy & Security, find Phone number verification and turn off Verify phone numbers automatically.
"[T]urning off the phone number verification toggle only prevents future linking," notes the report. "If Google has already attached your number across secondary accounts, you will need to open your Google Account Personal Info page, head to Contact info > Phone, and manually remove the number from each profile where it doesn't belong." Is this conversation helpful so far?
Re:How? (Score:4)
Why are the security experts the bad guys? (Score:3)
If you have to feed the sock puppets, do you have to propagate the vacuous Subject? What was your main point again?
I want my main point to focus on a little anecdote about breaking google security using the WiFi linkage. I sure hope I'm not publicizing a little known attack vector, but...
My phone has metered 5G data so I use a lot of public Wi-Fi when I'm traveling. Separate problem that a large fraction of that data is for ads that I never wanted and merely ignore. I basically regard public Wi-Fi as untrus
AI Summary (Score:5, Interesting)
@BeauHD seems like he's leaning into AI headfirst from behind judging by his closing sentence cut and pasta from AI.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: AI Summary (Score:2)
Muahahaha. Insert facepalm here.
Is this conversation helpful so far? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
For some reason the above paragraph triggered the Lameness filter, which I haven't seen in a long time. I'm rather curious as to what caused it to trip, but I'd like to think some ancient script has as low of an opinion of the editors as we all do. Apparently adding to the length didn't do it, but after censori
Oh dear.... (Score:1)
No point removing it. (Score:3)
It's obvious that once you have a phone number associated with an account, Google won't forget that association no matter what, even if you delete the number from an account. A connection has been made and will forever linger in their graphs. The only difference is that you won't see it.
Phone Number Sharing (Score:2)
They also have another dodgy setting under Google -> All Services -> Privacy and Security called "Phone Number Sharing".
Re: (Score:2)
I thought that setting just involves giving your phone number to apps.
The oddest thing is that I started receiving spam calls from "Google" under a 650 area code as soon as I turned off phone number verification.
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Can't find (Score:2)
I've got a Pixel phone and that setting is nowhere to be found.
Has it really been that silent? (Score:3)
I've been getting requests and suggestions from Google and every other app/program company to associate a phone number for years.