AI News Feed
Market watch
iOS 27 Adds Extra-Large Home Screen Widgets as Apple Invites Update Adds RSVP ToolsMicrosoft Defender Adds Linux Desktop Support in Public PreviewMicrosoft and Japan's police agency dismantle phishing marketplace tied to over a billion scam messagesTimeTeller Pitches Circadian Testing as a Timing Tool for Cancer CareDell stock plunges 11%, leading data center sell-off on concerns about enterprise AI timingNASA Details Solid-State Battery Work for the Moon's Extreme Temperatures
iOS 27 Adds Extra-Large Home Screen Widgets as Apple Invites Update Adds RSVP ToolsMicrosoft Defender Adds Linux Desktop Support in Public PreviewMicrosoft and Japan's police agency dismantle phishing marketplace tied to over a billion scam messagesTimeTeller Pitches Circadian Testing as a Timing Tool for Cancer CareDell stock plunges 11%, leading data center sell-off on concerns about enterprise AI timingNASA Details Solid-State Battery Work for the Moon's Extreme Temperatures
Cybersecurity

Google Turns On Android Phone Number Verification by Default, Tying One Number to Every Signed-In Account

Google has made Android phone number verification opt-out, automatically verifying a device's number and attaching it to every Google account signed in on the phone, including work and secondary profiles. A support page describing the behavior was updated between August and October 2025.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-15 06:18

The behavior drew attention after a recent Reddit thread in which users said they received unexpected confirmation emails from noreply-phone-verification@google.com stating that their phone number had been verified. In Google's settings the feature appears under the name "Phone number verification." It associates the phone number active on the handset with all Google accounts signed in on the same device, the report said, covering secondary profiles, work accounts and throwaway handles.

Google's support documentation has stated for some time that the company periodically re-verifies a device's phone number so that communication and recovery features stay up to date. According to Android Authority, that support page was revised at some point between August and October 2025 to describe the new default behavior: verification switched on unless the user turns it off, and every phone number added to every Google account signed in on the device.

Users who want to stop the automatic verification can open the Settings app on their Android phone, tap Google, select the All Services tab, find Phone number verification under Privacy & Security and turn off "Verify phone numbers automatically."

Turning the toggle off only prevents future linking, the report noted. Numbers that Google has already attached to secondary accounts stay attached until they are removed by hand, which requires opening the Google Account Personal Info page, going to Contact info and then Phone, and deleting the number from each profile where it does not belong.

Phone numbers are widely used for account recovery and two-factor authentication, so one number appearing across several signed-in accounts ties those profiles together for anyone who can see the association. The Android Authority report, which Slashdot summarized, did not include a statement from Google on the change or on why the support page was updated without a separate announcement to users.