Google Is Silently Linking Your Phone Number Across All Signed-In Accounts (androidauthority.com) 34
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:5, Informative)
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
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I haven't logged into my primary e-mail account (via web-browser) for years because of that. Thankfully, I saw the writing on the wall in 2013, and put TOTP on all other accounts. A few years ago, I bought a few fingerprint scanners (The memory 'battery' powers it for a few hours, only.) to use instead of passkey log-in. The passkey escrow system to compensate for a lost/destroyed phone, is not offered by Google or Microsoft.
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:AI Summary (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re: AI Summary (Score:2)
Muahahaha. Insert facepalm here.
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@BeauHD seems like he's leaning into AI headfirst from behind judging by his closing sentence cut and pasta from AI.
It's actually EditorDavid. When we pointed out a few weeks ago that we hadn't seen BeauHD post in months he must have spun up an AI to pretend to be them.
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Oh please, he's quoting information directly from Google's help page and he included their "helpful" question at the end, the summary itself wasn't AI generated.
Is this conversation helpful so far? (Score:5, Insightful)
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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:5, Insightful)
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:3)
They also have another dodgy setting under Google -> All Services -> Privacy and Security called "Phone Number Sharing".
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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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Phone Number Sharing
"Allow Google to show you a screen that lets you choose a phone number to share when a third-party app requests your phone number"
Can't find (Score:2)
I've got a Pixel phone and that setting is nowhere to be found.
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Lots of people in the reddit thread say the same thing, but other people also explained to some of them how to do it.
The setting is there, waiting to be found. You just haven't found it.
Has it really been that silent? (Score:4)
I've been getting requests and suggestions from Google and every other app/program company to associate a phone number for years.
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I've been getting requests and suggestions from Google and every other app/program company to associate a phone number for years.
The silent part is where they stopped requesting and just did it for you.
Enshitification didn't get attention (Score:5, Interesting)
To switch-off wi-fi, one must tap the right side of the wi-fi button and slide the wi-fi toggle to "off". The black icon will display a diagonal line through the wi-fi symbol.
Also, the Mobile Data button (data over the phone service) was moved to page 3 of the notification panel. It now displays a pop-up, demanding confirmation of the activation.
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With Android 17, the wi-fi button on the notification panel (drag-down from top of screen) no longer switches-off the wi-fi
Yes that allows location services to continue working when you don't have GPS coverage while blocking data. iOS has been doing this for a decade already for the same reason. Users are generally too dumb to understand the concept that having WiFi completely off can affect other parts of the phone's functionality, so this isn't a bad thing. For those select users who for some reason want the WiFi completely off, the option remains there for you to do so.
Also, the Mobile Data button (data over the phone service) was moved to page 3 of the notification panel.
I can think of no better place for a button that I never
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"Yes that allows location services to continue working when you don't have GPS coverage while blocking data ... For those select users who for some reason want the WiFi completely off, the option remains there for you to do so."
You think the vast majority of people would not care whether their wifi antenna is on, but why assume that GPS is needed by the majority of people at all times enough to justify making it a hassle to disable wifi? What if I want one less antenna running in my pocket, is that somehow
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Because it is. I guarantee you're using accurate location services often without GPS and almost certainly without knowing it. Think about any time you are looking for anything in a shopping centre for one. Ever wonder how your phone knows where you are in the middle of a building without windows?
What if I want one less antenna running in my pocket, is that somehow a luddite's sentiment?
Then turn it off. The option is there for you. But you have to understand *you* are the weirdo here. The quick functions are for the general population, not the weirdos afraid of antennas. You can't expect every sin
Silo your accounts (Score:2)
It can very occasionally be a pain in the butt, but I use a throwaway google account for my phone, and nothing but my phone. The only data I allow it to back up is my contacts list (even that is a stretch for me, but I got tired of re-entering all the names and numbers each time I bought a new phone or doing a manual local backup process). There are no other google accounts added to my phone. No gmail (I use a third party IMAP client for a non-google email, only two weeks of emails are kept on the serv