Google Automatically Links Android Phone Numbers to All Signed-In Accounts, Drawing Privacy Complaints

TechRadar reported that the change was spotted by Reddit user Nanosinx. For Android users who keep secondary accounts for work or throwaway purposes, the result can be that a personal phone number becomes linked to accounts they intended to keep separate. Phone numbers are often treated as private and sensitive information, and the feature was previously an opt-in process, according to TechRadar.

The report said users appear to be receiving emails from Google alerting them to the change. If no such email has arrived, a user’s number may not have been linked yet, though TechRadar added that it is still worth checking.

To see whether the feature is active, users can open Settings, go to Google or Google services and preferences, then All services, then Phone number verification. If the “Verify phone numbers automatically” toggle is on, the automatic linking is occurring on those accounts. Turning the toggle off disables the feature, according to TechRadar, but it does not remove a phone number from accounts to which it has already been linked. To remove the number, users must go to their Google account personal info page, then Contact info or Personal info, then Phone, and delete it from any account where they do not want it.

TechRadar reported that some users say the same issue occurs on the privacy-focused GrapheneOS, though possibly only when Google Play Services is installed. Some users also report that the auto-verification toggle turns itself back on, which would make the settings change only a temporary fix.

Reaction on Reddit was negative. Comments cited by TechRadar included “I’m so sick of this,” “this feature is absolutely dumb,” and “scummy practices yet again by a mega corp.” TechRadar said it remains to be seen whether Google will change the process back to opt-in rather than opt-out.