From: Ralf Jung Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2018 12:56:51 +0000 (+0100) Subject: Google claims phone numbers are optional when they are not X-Git-Url: https://git.ralfj.de/web.git/commitdiff_plain/93bab930bfc8498da03cd20cb33d471f6b0d2b60?ds=sidebyside Google claims phone numbers are optional when they are not --- diff --git a/personal/_posts/2018-12-12-google-scholar.md b/personal/_posts/2018-12-12-google-scholar.md index 79100be..81c7090 100644 --- a/personal/_posts/2018-12-12-google-scholar.md +++ b/personal/_posts/2018-12-12-google-scholar.md @@ -21,9 +21,10 @@ Turns out I actually *have* a phone number that is public and that I am hence wi Seems like they insist on mobile numbers, and that is a piece of data I am not willing to share with the public or Google. Several people I spoke with were surprised to hear about Google enforcing the disclosure of phone numbers. -I have now tried creating accounts several times, from different browsers and via different internet connections (mobile, work, home) and always got the same result. +Google themselves say on their [help page](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1733224?hl=en) that submitting a phone number "is optional but highly recommended". +That's a lie: I have now tried creating accounts several times, from different browsers and via different internet connections (mobile, work, home) and always got the same dialog asking me for a phone number, with no way to skip. I even tried a friend's computer who said he just recently created an account without having to give a phone number. -I am not sure what kind of profiling Google is doing here, but I was never able to skip the phone validation step. +I am not sure what kind of profiling Google is doing here, but they seem to have some kind of heuristics for whom they ask for a phone number and whom they don't. I am considering various options, including getting a cheap prepaid SIM card just for Google. All of this may sound somewhat paranoid, but the point I am trying to make is this: at some point we have crossed the barrier where having a Google account was optional.