Virtually all online streaming services in India now use a OTP sent to registered mobile number as the way to login to the app on any device. Magic links and O

Virtually all online streaming services in India now use a OTP sent to registered mobile number as the way to login to the app on any device. Magic links and OTPs have become common for many other sites I use -- Udemy, Teachable etc. come to mind. Recently I bought a cheap "smart watch" for my kid. Mostly for the digital display with configurable clock faces and simple step counting. The app would refuse to activate the watch unless we provide a valid mobile number and OTP. Why the hell do I need to give them a working mobile number just to use a smartwatch. Even if I wanted (which I did not) to get notifications / calls / texts / caller ID / contacts from my paired smartphone ... the smartwatch app does not need to know my phone number for that functionality to work. Feel so powerless.