Google has been attaching the phone number of a device’s SIM card to every Google account signed in on that Android phone by default since September 2025. The company’s support pages explain that the number is verified automatically during the initial setup and then added to all accounts on the device, including work and secondary profiles. Google says the verification is needed for features such as account recovery and RCS messaging, but it does not clarify why the number must appear on every account.
Android Authority discovered that the relevant Google documentation was updated sometime between August and October 2025 to note that verification is enabled by default. A Google Play services changelog dated September 8, 2025 also lists automatic number verification as part of the setup process. Many users only learned about the change after receiving unsolicited emails from noreply‑phone‑verification@google.com confirming that their number had been verified.
According to Google’s support page, the link applies to both existing and future accounts and numbers. A new Google account added later will inherit every number stored on the phone, and swapping SIM cards will cause the new number to be added to all accounts as well. Google and the carrier periodically re‑verify those numbers, which can generate carrier charges, and the setting can be adjusted only from the device itself.
Turning verification on also activates Google’s “Better sharing” feature for one of the signed‑in accounts. Google states that this supports video calls, messages and notifications for content sent to the number, such as photos. Phone‑number sign‑in, device‑finding, emergency location services and Quick Share all rely on a verified number. In October 2025, a month after automatic verification was introduced, Google rolled out “Sign in with Mobile Number,” a recovery tool that identifies Google accounts linked to a phone number and lets the owner unlock the device with the passcode from a previous phone.
Google’s help pages also describe a “Better ads & Google services” setting that uses a phone number across its services to deliver more relevant ads. The same page notes that any verified number on an Android device can be added to any Google account signed in on that device, although Google has not specified which ad setting applies to numbers attached automatically.
To disable the feature, users can go to Settings → Google → All services, then under Privacy & security select Phone number verification and turn off “Verify phone numbers automatically.” Some devices label this section as Google services and preferences. Disabling the setting does not remove numbers that have already been linked; those must be deleted manually by opening Personal info → Phone in each account’s Google settings.
Kaspersky warns that turning off verification also disables RCS chats in Google Messages, causing conversations to fall back to SMS. Google’s Messages help pages indicate that RCS requires phone‑number verification before it can connect. This trade‑off is significant because end‑to‑end encrypted RCS messaging began rolling out between Android phones and iPhones in May. Kaspersky also notes that a number with verification disabled cannot be used for quick account recovery.
Google maintains that it does not sell personal data, including phone numbers, to third parties. In May, the company told Android Authority it was testing a policy in select regions that limits new Google accounts to 5 GB of free storage unless a phone number is linked, a reduction from the usual 15 GB.