Got a personal account and a work account on the same Android phone? They may now share your phone number, whether you meant them to or not.
Google’s own support page spells it out. When you set up an Android device, phone number verification is on by default. Google verifies your number and adds it to all Google accounts signed in on the device. That applies to current and future accounts and numbers. Add a new account later and it picks up every number on the phone. Swap in a new SIM and that number gets added to every account.
This isn’t brand new. Engadget, citing Android Authority, reports the documentation was changed sometime between August and October 2025 to say verification is on by default, and a Google Play services changelog dated 8 September 2025 lists it running automatically at setup. What’s new is that lots of people are only now noticing, after surprise emails from [email protected] told them their number had been verified.
Google says verification powers useful features: signing in with your phone number, recovering your account, finding a lost device, emergency location, Quick Share, and RCS messages and video calls. What it hasn’t explained, Engadget notes, is why the number needs to be added to every account on the phone.
Google and your carrier also re-verify numbers periodically, which can incur carrier charges, and the setting can only be managed from the phone itself.
If you want to stop it, open Settings, tap Google (on some phones it’s ‘Google services and preferences’), go to All services, then under Privacy and security choose Phone number verification and turn off ‘Verify phone numbers automatically’.
That only stops future linking. Numbers already attached have to be removed by hand: in each account, go to Personal info, then Phone, and delete the number. Android Central reports some users say the setting turned itself back on, so it’s worth checking again later.
Why it matters
Many people keep work, business and personal accounts separate on purpose, for privacy or security. Silent linking quietly undoes that. If separation matters to you or your team, check every account today. Just know the trade-off: turning verification off can affect features like RCS chat and phone-number account recovery. Either way, it should be your decision, made knowingly.
Sources: Engadget, Android Authority, Google Android Help, Android Central. Written by the xRapid Media LLP team.