It’s not some conspiracy, I can tell you that.
Privacy is an interesting topic, but that’s not what’s happening here.
There’s no hidden agenda. There’s a reason that they want your phone number, and it’s something I deal with all the time.
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Your phone number and online services
Providing your phone number to services like Google or Microsoft is all about account recovery. It verifies your identity if you forget your password, get locked out, or face a hack. I know some people mistrust big companies, but skipping this step risks permanent account loss without recovery options.
Account recovery and your phone number
It’s all about account recovery. Your mobile phone number is information Google and Microsoft can use to get you back in to your email or other accounts should you ever have problems signing in.
For instance, if you forget your password, get locked out, or even if someone hijacks your account, Google, Microsoft, and other providers can send a text message to prove you are who you say you are and thus are the rightful owner of the account.
It used to be optional, but more and more accounts now require it. Why is a phone number such good verification for account recovery?
You’re the person who owns the phone and picks up when someone calls that number. Giving them the number while you have account access, is something they can use later to reauthorize access to that account. If they text you a code and you can type that code in on a website, it proves you have the phone and must be the owner of the account.
It used to be possible to enter a bogus number, but most services verify your access to that number by sending it a text before they’ll accept it as yours.
Some services let you create a temporary one-time mobile number you can use and then throw away. Unfortunately, that negates your ability to recover the account later should you ever need to.
Related
A One-Step Way to Lose Your Account Forever
I see people lose access to their most important accounts all the time. It's often their own fault that they can't regain access.The importance of recovery information
When asked for additional recovery information, many people say, “I’m never going to forget my password. I’ll just remember it. I’ll always be secure. I don’t need this additional recovery information.”
“It won’t happen to me.”
Trust me. It will. You do (and probably will) need the additional account recovery information you provided when you set up the account.
That’s not any reflection on you. Accounts are compromised and lost for a variety of reasons, only some of which are under your control.
I always provide recovery information.
Loss happens
Losing access to your account is a more significant problem than most people realize.
It happens all the time. My most popular articles and videos are about how to recover access to a lost, stolen, or hacked account. And they all end with the same admonition: if your recovery information isn’t present or up to date, you can lose your account and everything in it forever.
Account loss happens. Providing your phone number is one way to protect yourself when (not if) it happens to you.
Related
Yes, You Should Give Google Your Mobile Number
Google uses your mobile number for verification if you lose access to your account. Some people don't want to provide it. They should.Let’s talk conspiracy
Whenever I discuss giving information like phone numbers and email addresses to big companies like Microsoft and Google, I get a flood of comments that boil down to “Hell no!”
Many people don’t trust the companies to keep their information safe or not use it for other things such as tracking or surveillance.
Serious question: if you don’t trust Google with your phone number to protect your Google account, why do you have a Google account at all? It seems like that would allow them to do the things you fear already.
But it’s your choice. If you don’t want to give your phone number to Google or Microsoft or whomever because you don’t trust them, you don’t have to. There are work-arounds.
Just don’t expect to get your account back should you ever lose access.
Do this
Give Google or Microsoft or whomever enough recovery information, and keep that information as up-to-date as possible, so that in the event of a problem you’ll be able to regain access to your account. Normally, that will include an SMS-capable phone number. I strongly believe it’s the right thing to do to protect your account and yourself.
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This article is a load of crap. Outlook locked me out and is asking to send me a text message and thus requires a phone number. The alternate email entered at sign up only allows for changing of password but does nothing to unlock the account. I have content linked to the account and so they are holding it hostage unless I give them a phone number where they can send a text message. “Contact us” sends you to bot where you can request a human but then it only offers contact through email and when you click email it sends me right back to outlook.com as if I can login to send an email. The email link itself has no email address in it. F**k you microsoft.
I know this is dated, but the issue has not gotten any better and no explanation is any more smart.
You don’t need my mobile number, when you can have my alternate email address.
The “you may forget your email address” irrelevant, since you just click on “Forgot email/password”.
No. There is another reason they aren’t telling us. Probably something to do with law enforcement, so if they are investigating a crime, they can request all phone numbers as part of a way to narrow down the who, what and when.
I think it’s an issue of fraud and fake accounts. It’s trivial to create a new email address with no way to trace it to the creator. While burner phones are a thing, they’re significantly more difficult (and costly when all you want them for is a free email account).
Many people want a fake account for legitimate purposes, for example, to avoid spam when signing up for things. People who want a fake account for illegitimate purposes won’t be stopped as the expense and hassle of a burner phone is just a small price of doing business.
Not saying it works, just theorizing on why. It also gives the service provider a little bit of CYA.
The person that wrote this nonsense article is a fraud and is part of the problem even way back then. That may read harsh but let me explain why I write that. Even way back then the writer knew better.
If you are still around please update this mis information write up please with some actual useful information.
First these plateforms run by technology companies that only feed on one thing , your information full stop.
The greed for information about you knows no bounds. The information collected is misused and puts you in more danger than ever before.
Silly email companies demand your phone…at the same time silly phone companies demand your email address.
If either cared about you and your privacy and protection.
There are much better ways to do it.
Notice how you canuse temp emails or temp voice over IP sms or phone numbers.
This is very interesting, both microsoft google amazon att any f them… The call can afford to create a disposable sms or email online too that would allow password recovery and account protection.
They dont support things like that because it insure your anonymity.
It protects you too well. They can track you they can feed off you.
The law enforcement agencies in this country wont allow you to be have those privacy protections.
Every cpu in thse machines has a seed generator, our phones are computers our tablets. This nation’s spy and intelligence agencies requested chip makers to use a government approved seed generator. This allows them back door access.
I’m not sure the outcomes of those request.. the point is no tech company cares about you or your security of your accounts.
They techno babble some script about how they care they lie to us making things required and their terms of service locks you into their chnages they make at a whim.
If you continue to use or service you are agreeing with our terms. From cockies to ads to logins? We are losing the privacy battle everytime the uninformed click yes I accept.
Please read these terms of service people opt out and and drop off these services and tech that box you in.
Needless to say I disagree vehemently with your conspiracy theory assessment. I’m honestly shocked you’re on the internet at all, given your position.
I dont do text, but I noticed that my flipphone is inundated with SMS messages, I hate the phone beeping all the time, and now the memory is full…….no more SMS messages. I’m going to get that messaging turned off, for good.
Nooobody ever gets my phone number anymore. The reason is, that they want is to spam you.
Receiving SMS’s shouldn’t fill up your phone. At worst you have the power to delete them all.
You can turn off the sound notifications for SMS text messages if they are annoying. Google turn off SMS sound notifications for your phone.
Requiring a mobile phone number locks me out of any service that requires one. I neither have a mobile phone nor do I want one. Why can’t there be an option to use a landline instead?
All you really need is a phone number capable of receiving text messages, which landlines cannot do. There are online services that can do that for you.
People concerned about privacy and not wanting to provide a telephone number for account recovery purposes or that they won’t need it should consider that alternative ways to recover an account might entail a significant waiting period.
Using a Microsoft recovery code for example will result in a 30 day waiting period before getting back into the account.
Found that out the hard way after helping someone after he locked himself out of his laptop after too many incorrect log on attempts and not having setup account recovery methods. I found a way into his account using another computer, updated his recovery information, then had to wait 30 days for the changes to take effect. We got lucky.
Not having the phone number for providing account verification made what would taken minutes to recover from turn into a month and a half.
I read your article about Google & Microsofe needing my phone number.
I have a problem with Facebook! When I signed up with Facebook, they asked for my phone number. (They didn’t say mobile). I gave my landline. I was brand new, at age 80!!
So, now I’m locked out because when I get to the place where they send a text to verify……of course I don’t get a code.
There’s no place I can change this. No one to call,
No way to get in to make a new account. We tried to make an account using my Gmail and it bounced right back to my AOL account!
So I am screwed to put it in nasty language.
I basically used it to keep in touch with family. I miss that terribly.
Facebook notifies me, in my email, when someone
posts on my timeline. Trouble is they send the email in French!! I can’t read it.
Yes, I have gone every place someone suggests, to no avail.
To get around the French language problem, you can use Google Translate or something similar.
I’m not sure what can be causing the inability to be able to open a new Facebook account, but it might be that you have your Gmail and AOL both set up as recovery emails. You may have to open a new emaill account. You’ll still be able to use your Gmail and AOL accounts as recovery emails.
The ideea of not given the phone number, is not about random text messages. Is about other people having a very easy door into your account, if they want. Just impersonate you and they can steal your sms recovery, and they have control over your LIFE not just FB account or google. That’s why never set up a phone number as a recovery. There a many ways to secure your account. Yubico keys, Microsoft authenticator, authy code generator, and I’m sure somebody can add a few more.