Google is probably the most aggressive anti-privacy big tech company currently operating.
No other big-tech company goes to such great lengths to deanonymize users and make its services difficult to use, especially during account creation.
The requirement to have a mobile device to scan a QR code to verify that you're human. Reverse SMS verification, where you have to send an SMS rather than receive a verification code. You think of signing up using a VPN server in another country? The phone number you use to send the SMS from must also be from that country.
Not being able to watch YouTube videos when using VPN - without signing in to a Google account, all under the guise of "bot protection."
Gemini not working in 3/4 of cases when using VPN.
It's essentially almost impossible to create a Google account without giving up your identity, and your phone number often leads directly to your real-life identity.
I'm not sure what happened in recent years, but they definitely switched their strategy to maximize data collection and make sure privacy-savy users are pressured via technical solutions to reveal their identities.
PS. The first company federal investigators often go for data is often Google
fred_is_fred•38m ago
More data = better ad sales.
baggachipz•32m ago
line go up
burningChrome•35m ago
Trying to fight it takes an enormous amount of time and energy. I carry two phones now - since I have my "privacy" enabled phone that basically has nothing on it. Email, messages, weather app and a few privacy enabled browsers. My other phone has all my "faux" google stuff on it. Maps, gmail, banking apps, my authenticator apps, music apps, etc.
Even then, these can all be tied together fairly easy, but just trying to make it harder to keep my data private is such a battle; and friends always ask me why I spend so much time trying to keep myself anonymous when in 2026 its virtually impossible to do so.
I always tell them:
“Bene vixit, bene qui latuit.” (To live well is to live concealed.)
Waterluvian•10m ago
This all sounds completely sensible. And yet, being caught by the police with two phones would probably be a big stupid red flag for them.
ProblemExplorer•27m ago
> I'm not sure what happened in recent years, but they definitely switched their strategy to maximize data collection and make sure privacy-savy users are pressured via technical solutions to reveal their identities.
Every scammer, fraudster, scammer-in-training, fraudster-in-training, uses a Google account.
The first company federal investigators often go for data is often Google because that's the start of their lead into their investigation. Google needs to provide answers, sometimes by regulation in countries.
ninininino•7m ago
Have you noticed the front page article sharing front page real estate with this one about Big Tech getting in trouble for not doing more to stop scamming and fraudsters?
Regulators want Big Tech to stop children from doing various things (such as access certain platforms or content), to stop fraudsters and scammers, to stop foreign intelligence operations or bots from astroturfing social media/manipulating social discourse, and so on.
Failing to so leads to inquiries, new laws or regulations, fines, and so on.
The technical solutions to combat these problems are the exact solutions that also ruin privacy for users, create friction at account creation time, require ever more draconian identity verification methods and so on. It's 1:1.
"I'm not sure what happened in recent years, but they definitely switched their strategy to maximize data collection and make sure privacy-savy users are pressured via technical solutions to reveal their identities."
It's really not any more complicated than that Governments have told them its time to start violating users privacy in order to combat these other problems.
hoppyhoppy2•50m ago
I think it's creepy and bad, but "silently" is not accurate, at least in my case: Google sent each of my accounts an email telling me about it.
tgv•44m ago
That's mighty generous of them. Does the mail contain an opt-out link?
jamiesonbecker•49m ago
Very unexpected behavior, esp for those with several accounts and phone numbers, intended to keep separate for security or other reasons.
Scaled•44m ago
This is an outrageous privacy invasion and if it's not illegal already, it should be.
toomuchtodo•42m ago
Report to your state's privacy department (if applicable) and your Attorney General. No guarantees, but once it's in regulator hands, you can let them run with it.
That's why I stay away from trying Gemini or doing anything much with Google until I still host my main gmail account there. One misstep and I'll find myself locked out. Because it's Google's job to spy on everyone, if I have other accounts there, those will also locked out too ("or you're trying to circumvent our ban, we noticed!" kind of a thing). Then the only recourse from what I understand is to make an HN post and hope it makes it to the front page and someone from Google who knows someone else at Google will help you.
exabrial•28m ago
Our corporate policy doesn't allow personal phones to be linked to corp accounts, for obvious reasons. We have no idea what kind of security your personal phone number has setup, nor do we compensate employees for their personal phones, nor do we want corporate communications happening on your personal device (work/life separation).
If the vendor is unable to comply, all we're using them for is email. Time to look elsewhere.
Havoc•17m ago
Yay surveillance state pushed by ad tech!
chneu•9m ago
Um, I think you mean convenience at the cost of privacy, which most people have no problem with, unfortunately.
Think of how nice this will be for all the people who don't care and have given up! So convenient.
anygivnthursday•15m ago
Is it silent, though? I got notifactions about it on my devices, then emails on each account. Then I went straight to delete the added numbers and disabled this "feature". It did not leave a good taste that I had to do this after the fact, I would have appreciated a notice with a chance to opt out first, because they may have already permanently stored those numbers in some internal history (I just asked Dropbox for my data and they listed every single email I've ever used on that account too). But, to be honest, I am not surprised, and I already consider all devices and numbers that ever come into contact with a Google account being permanently on record on some Google server.
jeffbee•7m ago
"Silently" has been redefined to mean "we know this because of the emails it sends".
maxo133•50m ago
No other big-tech company goes to such great lengths to deanonymize users and make its services difficult to use, especially during account creation.
The requirement to have a mobile device to scan a QR code to verify that you're human. Reverse SMS verification, where you have to send an SMS rather than receive a verification code. You think of signing up using a VPN server in another country? The phone number you use to send the SMS from must also be from that country.
Not being able to watch YouTube videos when using VPN - without signing in to a Google account, all under the guise of "bot protection."
Gemini not working in 3/4 of cases when using VPN.
It's essentially almost impossible to create a Google account without giving up your identity, and your phone number often leads directly to your real-life identity.
I'm not sure what happened in recent years, but they definitely switched their strategy to maximize data collection and make sure privacy-savy users are pressured via technical solutions to reveal their identities.
PS. The first company federal investigators often go for data is often Google
fred_is_fred•38m ago
baggachipz•32m ago
burningChrome•35m ago
Even then, these can all be tied together fairly easy, but just trying to make it harder to keep my data private is such a battle; and friends always ask me why I spend so much time trying to keep myself anonymous when in 2026 its virtually impossible to do so.
I always tell them: “Bene vixit, bene qui latuit.” (To live well is to live concealed.)
Waterluvian•10m ago
ProblemExplorer•27m ago
Every scammer, fraudster, scammer-in-training, fraudster-in-training, uses a Google account.
The first company federal investigators often go for data is often Google because that's the start of their lead into their investigation. Google needs to provide answers, sometimes by regulation in countries.
ninininino•7m ago
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/14/dating-app-s...
Regulators want Big Tech to stop children from doing various things (such as access certain platforms or content), to stop fraudsters and scammers, to stop foreign intelligence operations or bots from astroturfing social media/manipulating social discourse, and so on.
Failing to so leads to inquiries, new laws or regulations, fines, and so on.
The technical solutions to combat these problems are the exact solutions that also ruin privacy for users, create friction at account creation time, require ever more draconian identity verification methods and so on. It's 1:1.
"I'm not sure what happened in recent years, but they definitely switched their strategy to maximize data collection and make sure privacy-savy users are pressured via technical solutions to reveal their identities."
It's really not any more complicated than that Governments have told them its time to start violating users privacy in order to combat these other problems.