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> a Google Account that isn't tied to anything else. Isn't that pretty much impossible? You need a phone number for verification, which effectively ties it to
by joekrill 1mo ago
> a Google Account that isn't tied to anything else.
Isn't that pretty much impossible? You need a phone number for verification, which effectively ties it to that phone number.
- armadyl 1mo agoAccounts created on stock Pixels don’t require phone numbers.
- iririririr 1mo agothat haven't been true since pixel 4. it just picks your phone in the background. a burner sim, like a literal criminal, is the only way today.
- goodmythical 1mo agoassuming the number you get hasn't previously been assigned to a google account
- drxzcl 1mo agoI've had no end of trouble registering an account on our corporate SIMs as the phone numbers (not the actual SIM cards) had been recycled as employees leave.
- edoceo 1mo agoSo many systems cannot handle known pattern of a phone number changing. Who's decided these are imutable values? That I have only one? That it's not shared?
- asnelt 1mo agoEven with a burner sim, there is the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, which is tied to the phone, and is known to all apps with the android.permission.READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE permission.
- exceptione 1mo agoThat can't be true? <https://grapheneos.org/faq#hardware-identifiers https://grapheneos.org/faq#hardware-identifiers> As of Android 10, apps cannot obtain permission to access non-resettable hardware identifiers such as the serial number, MAC addresses, IMEIs/MEIDs, SIM card serial numbers and subscriber IDs. Only privileged apps included in the base system with READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE whitelisted can access these hardware identifiers. Apps targeting Android 10 will receive a SecurityException and older apps will receive an empty value for compatibility. The currently enabled carrier-based messaging app for SMS/MMS/RCS is a special case that's given access to certain device identifiers including the IMEI. This is normally the GrapheneOS fork of AOSP Messaging but can be changed to another app by the user. Since these restrictions became standard, GrapheneOS only makes a small change to remove a legacy form of access to the serial number by legacy apps, which was still around for compatibility. It used to need more extensive changes such as disallowing access to the serial number but those restrictions are now standard. I don't know however if sandboxed google play is such a privileged app.
- asnelt 1mo agoI couldn't immediately find whether GrapheneOS grants READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE to Google Play. It might very well be that the GrapheneOS sandbox spoofs a fake IMEI, and I do hope so. In any case, my parent comment was meant for stock Pixels, as mentioned by armadyl further up in this thread.
- nickspacek 1mo agohttps://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-play https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-play > Google Play receives absolutely no special access or privileges on GrapheneOS as opposed to bypassing the app sandbox and receiving a massive amount of highly privileged access. It doesn't mention IMEI here, but hopefully READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE is included in "privileged access."
- exceptione 1mo ago
- megagpt5 1mo agoIt still works without a SIM card, how do you explain that?
- alt227 1mo agoIts possible to set up a phone with a google account without even a sim card in it and use it as a wifi only device, so Im pretty sure what your saying is wrong.
- iririririr 1mo agoyou will be asked for a phone number then.
- megagpt1 1mo agoYou can create an account with no phone number during Android device setup. You can also just get a burner phone number for a few bucks.
- cube00 1mo ago> You can also just get a burner phone number for a few bucks. But you have to keep paying the monthly cost, if you loose access to a phone number in your Google account it's game over for any account recovery or "let's verify it's you" it might decide to throw your way.
- megagpt1 1mo agoWhat's the problem then? If it happens, discard that account and make a new Aurora Store burner account.
- kasabali 1mo ago> You can create an account with no phone number during Android device setup. Yeah now they have IMEI and all the other device specific info anyway they might as well forego the phone number
- Linux-Fan 1mo ago> > a Google Account that isn't tied to anything else. > Isn't that pretty much impossible? You need a phone number for verification, which effectively ties it to that phone number. I just want to follow-up on this because some people claim this is not correct because they have managed to create accounts without phone numbers. Indeed, I think to this day, under special circumstances (like e.g. on reasonably recent Android devices) you might be able to setup a Google account without phone number. The trick is, that in the general case, you can not keep this account online indefinitely. I once worked out a trick to get it going and I was feeling safe because I had setup 2FA and backup codes (see https://masysma.net/37/google_how_to_create_an_account_without_telephone_number.xhtml https://masysma.net/37/google_how_to_create_an_account_witho...). First thing to note: This way of account creation does not seem to work anymore. Second thing to note: After once logging in from a different country, trying to login again REQUIRES me to provide a phone number after successfully giving username/password/2FA code. No way to use the recovery code instead... Also, given that this account was never before connected to a phone of any kind, by definition, the addition of a phone number cannot provide additional security confirmation (it's data that simply wasn't present before and any "personal" phone number could potentially do -- of course I haven't tried, because that's the point of not linking a phone number). I think this way it is finally proven that they only do this to harvest the data/phone numbers and any claim of enhanced security is void. I write this after having lost the second account to the phone number required screen despite being in possession of all the credentials which were ever assigned to that account...
- Cider9986 1mo agoSame thing happens to me.