Google adds a phone number to every account signed in on Android
Original title: Google may add your number to all your accounts: How to stop it
Verification is on by default for current and later accounts, and turning it off does not delete numbers already added.
Malwarebytes reports that Android users received emails saying a phone number was verified on secondary Google accounts. Google's documentation says phone-number verification is on by default and attaches the number to every Google account signed in on the device, including accounts added later. The number is not made public, but it can link accounts a user meant to keep separate. Removing it requires disabling automatic verification on the phone and deleting the number, including separate recovery and 2-Step Verification uses.
Unconfirmed: Reports that automatic verification turns itself back on come from some users, not a confirmed behavior on every phone.
- The setting covers existing accounts and any account added later on that Android device.
- Disabling automatic verification does not remove numbers already stored on accounts.
- Google says a number change in the account does not update every service that stores it.
- Android Central users report the switch turning itself back on; that is not confirmed for every phone.
From the original article
4 min read at malwarebytes.com
Android users report that Google automatically added their phone number to accounts they wanted to keep separate. Here’s how to check yours.
By @MetallicaMVP · malwarebytes.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.