Google Has Silently Linked Your Phone Number to All Your Accounts, but You Can Stop It.
In recent weeks, Google has been automatically linking Android users’ phone numbers to all Google accounts they’re signed into on their devices—without asking for their consent. This means that if you’re signed into personal, work, and temporary accounts on your Android phone, Google could undetectedly verify and link your number to all of them, even if you’ve intentionally kept them separate. If you don’t want this, there’s a way to fix it.
Google automatically verifies Android users’ phone numbers.
As Android Authority reports , some Android users recently received confirmation emails from an official Google address stating that their phone number had been verified. Google periodically requires phone number re-verification, but appears to have updated its support documentation about a year ago, making this feature unavailable by default. As part of this process, Google also adds your phone number to all Google accounts authorized on the device, including current accounts and phone numbers, as well as any that are added or updated in the future.
You can change your phone number verification settings on Android.
Disable automatic phone number verification
If you have an Android device, you can disable automatic phone number verification, which should prevent Google accounts from being linked. This switch is located in the Settings app under Google or under Google services and settings > All services > Privacy and security > Phone number verification . (Note that the exact path may vary depending on your device.) Periodically check to make sure this switch remains off.
Remove linked numbers from already linked accounts.
Updating this setting does not disconnect any phone numbers or Google accounts that are already linked. You can see which numbers are associated with which accounts on the “Personal Information” page of your Google account . Select your profile photo in the upper right corner to view all authorized accounts, and open the “Phone” section to select and remove numbers you don’t want linked.
Please check your security and login settings.
Finally, Malwarebytes recommends scrolling down to the “Usage” section of the “Phone” page to see what services are listed there, as well as checking your security and login settings. If you’ve added your phone number for two-factor authentication or to a separate app like Google Pay, removing it from the “Phone” page won’t completely remove it from your account, and you’ll need to update those settings separately. Automatic phone number verification shouldn’t be the cause of the problem in this case, but it’s a good idea to check what your number is used for and across which accounts if you want to keep things separate.