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Gmail registration now requires scanning a QR code and sending a text message

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Why This Matters

Google's new registration process requiring QR code scanning and SMS verification aims to enhance account security and curb fraudulent registrations. However, it raises privacy concerns regarding the traceability of phone numbers and user anonymity, especially across different countries. This change underscores the ongoing balance between security measures and user privacy in the tech industry.

Key Takeaways

Scott: Scott: You just wait, someone will come up with a service that sends a sms to google.

I admire your confidence and hope you are right.

I am curious, is QR code verification currently universal to all countries?

Also, suppose I am on holiday in Italy, which is one of the many countries that requires ID registration to buy or use a SIM. I’m in Italy for only a week and buy a SIM there, which is tied to my ID.

While I’m there I use my Italian number to create an “anonymous” Google account. Upon creating my Google account, I immediately enable 2FA via authentication app and YubiKey, and save my recovery codes. I am able to log into my Google account without SMS verification.

I go back to my country, and keep using my Google account without ever being prompted to verify my number. Because I don’t live in Italy, my Italian number quickly gets reassigned.

I keep using my Google accounts for months and years, without every needing to verify my number.

Can Google trace the account back to my real identity from the Italian number I used?

Do phone network companies or governments keep a record of all the people who have owned the same number?

This is something worth investigating in the country that you live in. I would like to believe that if I owned a phone number for just a couple of months before it was assigned to someone else, Google would not be able to identify me.

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