Android attaches your phone number to every Google account

Android devices have been verifying the SIM's phone number and attaching it to every Google account signed in on the phone for more than a year, according to Google's support documentation highlighted by Android Authority. Users are now noticing the practice through unprompted emails from noreply-phone-verification@google.com confirming that their number has been verified.

Google's documentation states that the number is verified automatically during setup and added to every account on the device, including work and secondary accounts. The link extends to existing and future accounts and numbers, and swapping SIM cards puts the new number on each account in turn.

According to Android Authority, the support page was amended sometime between August and October 2025 to say verification is on by default. A Google Play services changelog dated September 8, 2025 lists number verification as running automatically during setup.

Charges and limited controls

Google and the carrier re-verify the numbers periodically, which can incur carrier charges. The setting can only be managed from the phone itself, under Settings > Google > All services > Privacy & security > Phone number verification. Turning verification on also enables Better sharing on Google for one of the signed-in accounts.

Turning verification off does not apply retrospectively: numbers already attached must be removed manually through Personal info > Phone in each account. Kaspersky notes that disabling verification also means losing RCS chats in Google Messages, pushing conversations back to SMS. Google says it does not sell personal data, including phone numbers; its support page describes a Better ads & Google services setting that uses a phone number across Google services to show more relevant ads.