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Google is now self-Verifying Phone Number without user CONSENT

WARNING: Google Play Services is quietly "Self-Verifying" and linking your phone number to ALL signed-in accounts without explicit permission.

Just a heads up for anyone who values basic privacy on Android.

Check your inbox for emails from noreply-phone-verification@google.com.

Without asking for my confirmation or giving me an opt-in prompt, Google Play Services performed a silent background "Self-Verification."

It exchanged SIM card identifiers and device metadata with my mobile carrier, grabbed my phone number, and automatically attached it to EVERY Google account logged into my phone.

No prompt.
No "Do you want to link this?" button.
Just a silent background action followed by a notification email telling me it already happened.

How to kill this setting on Android immediately (for now) but it will self verify even if turned off
Go to Settings > Google (or Google Services) > All Services > Phone Number Verification

Find Phone number verification (or Device Phone Number Verification).
(Ah, and lovely it automatically appear my phone number even WHEN IT WAS NOT THERE BEFORE!)

TOGGLE IT OFF.

Don't forget to purge your accounts:

Once Google steals/verifies the number, it pushes it to your Google account profiles.

You need to log into myaccount.google.com/personal-info, click on Phone, and manually delete the number from every single account where you don't want it stored.

Modern "self-verification" dark patterns are completely out of hand.
Check your settings before Google silently grabs your data too.

NO ANDROID IS SAFE: Happened on my Android 10 Huawei, Android 14 Xiaomi and is now requesting on my emulators too...even my tablet...
Beware...

https://redd.it/1x5isox
@reddit_android
Repurposing an old phone instead of creating e-waste to replace cloud subs

had an old android phone lying in my drawer so decided to turn it into a dedicated mini server instead of paying for drive and streaming subs every month. no root needed and runs completely fine.

the services running:

filebrowser for managing storage over the local network

syncthing fork continuously syncing my camera roll from my main phone

jellyfin streaming movies and music to my tv over wifi

runs inside termux using a proot ubuntu container. ram stays around 400mb idle across all three services. power draw is around 2 to 3w and the phone battery works like an accidental ups during power cuts.

main headache was android killing background tasks. had to kill phantom process limits over adb and keep termux wakelock on so the container doesn't sleep. mounted the internal storage path so both filebrowser and syncthing can read and write without permission errors. and the automated installer script in the comments below if anyone wants to run it

for people running old phones 24 7 like this do you guys use smart plugs to stop battery bloat or just leave it plugged in?

https://redd.it/1x4wutu
@reddit_android
Motion Cues features importance

I use both an iPhone 14 and a Galaxy S23 Ultra, and I've been looking at how both platforms handle accessibility tools like motion sickness mitigation (such as Apple's Vehicle Motion Cues and Android's newer Motion Assist).

​On iOS, system-level motion cues are rolled out universally across supported models. On Android, because of ecosystem fragmentation and manufacturer layers, features like native motion assistance depend heavily on specific Android versions (like Android 17 / One UI 9+) and device rollout timelines.

​For those using newer Android builds that have access to native motion assistance features, how well do they perform compared to third-party alternatives or iOS? Are manufacturers expected to standardize this across mid-range and older flagship devices soon?

https://redd.it/1x4ww9s
@reddit_android
Unpopular opinion Flagships are worth it even for the average joe

I don't know where to put this, but I kinda need to get it off my chest.

A few months ago, after like 10+ years buying "nice mid range phones" (Nexus 5, a couple OnePlus, A52S and maybe 1 other I forget) I decided to splurge and go for a S26 because my carrier had a decent payment plan for it and ...

Fuck this is so good. It's not even a "flagship flagship" cause I can't stand the size (and price) of "true flagship" phones but I have never been "content" to use a phone as much as this one. I thought I'd get bored after a couple weeks as I usually do about my phones. But not this time.

Build just feels nice, screen feels nice, looks cool, form factor is perfection, fingerprint sensor is so good even with a screen protector on.

I'm not even a power user, just an average "geek-ish" schmuk (huge pc nerd, not for any other hardware / geek thing) that use social media, snap pics of his dog, browse reddit and use Discord on his phone.
I don't even do work related shit on it and it's still worth it.

I have always been a "flagship hater" and a chinese / google brand mid range hype man.
But using my GF's S25+ regularly made me realise her shit was much nicer than mine (at the time) and I was like, it feels so smooth and great to use. Especially things like her fingerprint sensor unlocking so much "better" than my previous phone. My old phone wasn't "bad" per se, just... inferior, and I never realised how cool it was to have a banger phone before getting to use one regularly.
I don't think I'll go back to a mid range phone later on.

So, if some people are hesitating, if you've got a few hundreds to burn, try it once. Maybe you'll realise you like so much more than you usual average phone.

Ok tear me a new one now Reddit. lol

P.s: I circled a long time before going for the S26 because in my country, the 5G bands of chinese phone aren't always good, and I was afraid of some feedbacks about "great hardware - mid software" and I didn't want a disappointing software.

https://redd.it/1x4z3jo
@reddit_android