there has been a slow transition of all big mail providers to require a phone number more and more and it scares me; they do not need it, there are other option

there has been a slow transition of all big mail providers to require a phone number more and more and it scares me; they do not need it, there are other options like OTP as mentioned by others - but as far as I am aware the big corps want to ensure they have a firm grasp on who you are. not really uncle sam watching your movements but more like uncle corp. if you do manage to get in, might be wise to tie in another email address to it or face the loaded barrel and put your phone number in.