Google has quietly updated how much free storage new accounts receive. Previously, every new Google account came with 15 GB of free storage — covering Gmail, Drive, and Photos. Now, new accounts may only get 5 GB unless they verify a phone number. Link a number, get the full 15 GB. Don't, and you're left with a third of what you used to get automatically.
It's framed as an anti-abuse measure — Google says it ensures storage is allocated "only once per person." That might be true. But it also means that, going forward, your personal mobile number is the price of admission to the full Google experience.
What Google actually does with your number
When you hand a phone number to Google for verification, it doesn't disappear after the SMS code is sent. Google ties that number to your account and uses it for several purposes you may not have thought about:
- Account recovery — your number becomes a fallback if you lose access to your account, which means it's stored long-term, not discarded after signup.
- Two-factor authentication — Google may prompt you to use it for 2FA, making it harder to remove later without losing account security.
- Ad personalisation — Google's privacy policy confirms that phone numbers can be used to match your account to other data across its advertising network, including across devices and third-party sites.
- Cross-service linking — your number may be used to connect your identity across Google products: Search, YouTube, Maps, and more.
None of this is hidden — it's in the terms. But most people clicking through signup screens aren't reading that far.
The bigger picture: your number as identity
This is part of a broader shift. Tech platforms increasingly use phone numbers not just as a contact method, but as a persistent identifier — something harder to change than an email address and uniquely tied to a real person.
Your mobile number can be used to look you up in people-finder databases, cross-reference your identity across platforms, receive marketing texts, or be sold as part of data breach packages. Once a company has it linked to your account, that link is difficult to undo.
Worth knowing: Mobile numbers in the UK are not anonymised by default when shared with services. Your number, tied to your name and Google account, can appear in data broker lists that are bought and sold by marketing companies — sometimes with no link back to the service that originally collected it.
The problem isn't Google specifically. The problem is the pattern: hand over your real number to access something you need, and that number quietly becomes part of a data trail you no longer control.
Why this matters even if you already have a Google account
If you set up your Google account years ago, this change doesn't directly affect your existing storage. But it may affect you in other situations:
Setting up a secondary account
Many people use a second Google account — for work, a project, a separate email identity, a child's account. Under the new model, each of those accounts may now need a phone number to unlock full storage. That means handing over more numbers, or using the same one across accounts — which links them together in Google's systems.
Setting up accounts for family members
If you help a parent or older relative create a Google account, Google may now require a verified number. That number — likely a personal mobile — becomes associated with a Google account indefinitely.
Replacing a lost or hacked account
If you ever need to start fresh with a new Google account after a security incident, you'll need a phone number to get full storage. Using your real number ties the new account back to your identity the same way the old one was.
There is a straightforward way around this
Google requires a real, working UK mobile number — one that can receive an SMS verification code. It doesn't require that number to be your personal number.
A Privify number is a genuine UK mobile number — an 07 number, assigned to you, capable of receiving SMS messages. You use it to verify your Google account, receive the code, and move on. Google gets a valid number. Your real personal mobile stays out of it entirely.
From Google's side, the verification passes normally. From your side, the number belongs to you but isn't linked to your identity the way your personal SIM is. You haven't handed Google anything it can match to your real-world contact details.
How it works in practice: Sign up for Google. When it asks for a phone number, enter your Privify number. The verification SMS arrives in your Privify inbox. Enter the code. Done — your account has full 15 GB storage, and your personal mobile number is never involved.
Other places the same logic applies
Google isn't the only platform using this tactic. Phone number verification is now standard across most major online services, often going well beyond what's necessary for basic account security:
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram) — account recovery, ad targeting, and "People You May Know" suggestions all use your phone number as a matching signal.
- X (formerly Twitter) — phone numbers were historically used to shadow-ban accounts without disclosure; they're now tied to account verification tiers.
- LinkedIn — your number is used for identity verification and is accessible to recruiters and connection suggestions in ways that aren't immediately obvious.
- Online shopping and delivery apps — your mobile number is often stored permanently and used for marketing, even after a single order.
- Two-factor authentication via SMS — many services enforce SMS-based 2FA, which requires you to register a number even if you'd prefer an authenticator app.
In every one of these cases, a real UK virtual number lets you complete the required step — verification, 2FA, account recovery setup — without tying your personal SIM to that platform's data profile.
The cost of doing nothing
Most people don't think about this until something goes wrong — a spam text wave they can't explain, an unsolicited call from a number that seems to know too much, or a data breach notification that includes a phone number they thought was private.
By then, the number is already out there. It's been in Google's systems, passed through ad networks, possibly included in a data sale. Removing it is possible but rarely straightforward, and the data that was already exported from those systems doesn't come back.
Using a separate number for account verifications doesn't fix everything. But it does mean that when a service is breached, or when it shares your data with third parties, it's not your real personal mobile that's in the mix.
Keep your real number out of it
Get a genuine UK mobile number for account sign-ups and verifications. Your personal number stays yours.
Get your Privify number →