Google is now self-Verifying Phone Number without user CONSENT

[u/Nanosinx]

WARNING: Google Play Services is quietly "Self-Verifying" and linking your phone number to ALL signed-in accounts without explicit permission.

Just a heads up for anyone who values basic privacy on Android.

Check your inbox for emails from noreply-phone-verification@google.com.

Without asking for my confirmation or giving me an opt-in prompt, Google Play Services performed a silent background "Self-Verification."

It exchanged SIM card identifiers and device metadata with my mobile carrier, grabbed my phone number, and automatically attached it to EVERY Google account logged into my phone.

No prompt. No "Do you want to link this?" button. Just a silent background action followed by a notification email telling me it already happened.

How to kill this setting on Android immediately (for now) but it will self verify even if turned off Go to Settings > Google (or Google Services) > All Services > Phone Number Verification

Find Phone number verification (or Device Phone Number Verification). (Ah, and lovely it automatically appear my phone number even WHEN IT WAS NOT THERE BEFORE!)

TOGGLE IT OFF.

Don't forget to purge your accounts:

Once Google steals/verifies the number, it pushes it to your Google account profiles.

You need to log into myaccount.google.com/personal-info, click on Phone, and manually delete the number from every single account where you don't want it stored.

Modern "self-verification" dark patterns are completely out of hand. Check your settings before Google silently grabs your data too.

NO ANDROID IS SAFE: Happened on my Android 10 Huawei, Android 14 Xiaomi and is now requesting on my emulators too...even my tablet... Beware...

Edit1: Maybe dont work, i sent a mail to data-protection-office@google.com, literally asking ARCO rights and anything i can think about it, for such privacy invasion on the behalf of my and all accounts i have to "care" and so on...maybe this bring pressure

Edit2: u/AppleBites reports this "Google did the same to me when I got a 2nd number from another carrier, due to coverage. Even having GrapheneOS did not prevent them from linking the number to my Google account automatically."

Meaning even Graphene OS+GServices probably is unable to protect with this, a serious oversteeping in this messed thing

[u/Otherwise_Cattle3981]

You lost me at "basic privacy on Android."

Some Android users are so funny. This has been a thing since at least 2019 when using Google Fi. Even longer with Google Voice. People acting like this is some grave mistrust of Google and a deep invasion of your privacy... You realize it takes a whole four taps to delete it off your account, right?

I came to this conclusion when the whole argument started up around Advanced Protection - the more advanced users of Android need to realize the majority of decisions Google makes about Android are not aimed at you, instead they are aimed at the opposite end of the spectrum, the users who are not great at using Android. And honestly Id expect that slice of the demographic to be way bigger than the power users. Users that might not know how to add a recovery phone number. Users who might find this super helpful, not an entire invasion of privacy that warrants a reddit post. Id much rather have something like this that helps protect some users that I can easily navigate and do away with if I choose than have Android completely un-user friendly.

[u/Boysahne69 → u/Otherwise_Cattle3981]

Completely agree. Using Android and complaining about privacy lmao

You'd have to take so many steps to really protect your privacy. Completely de-google-fying your life would be the first. And bro in here is talking about one option in Android ahhahaha

[u/Nanosinx → u/Otherwise_Cattle3981]

I dont use Google Fi, actually not available in my country.

Is okay, if Google Prompt me to ACCEPT not to do it shadowy means by taking such Right, i dont wanna add a recovery phone number, it is sufficent with my other mails to recovery, thing is that it added like a robber who enters your home your closed home and steals you without anyone letting him to enter or a door or window open, and get 0 damage...

[u/Otherwise_Cattle3981 → u/Nanosinx]

That is an absolutely terrible analogy.

[u/Nanosinx → u/Otherwise_Cattle3981]

Consider it, but the way google is self-Verifying is worse than my analogy...

[u/Otherwise_Cattle3981 → u/Nanosinx]

Not even close. Thats how bad it was.

[u/BenRandomNameHere → u/Nanosinx]

It's like: 

Getting a relatively cheap rental property, where everything is taken care of, or at least mostly, but getting aggravated the land lord needed your personal info to rent to you. 

If you bothered to read the EULA on the device, or software, or Google Account, you would clearly see they take steps to link your accounts to your identity and your devices. This is all part of the security stuff. 

For better or worse, your personal device is linked via the account you logged in on it. The only problem is if you use a pubic device. 

What'll you do if you get locked out?? Phone number is the easiest verification possible if your account gets hacked. 

And you should be aware, Gapps is enough to enforce this requirement. GrapheneOS itself did not allow this, the user installing Gapps did.