Today, most users have a Google account, either to use email or enjoy other of its many services. For security, ask to link the phone number with the user account, which will be used, for example, to verify our user credentials. But what happens if our beloved smartphone is lost or stolen? Or if we change the number? In these situations, we will be interested in unlinking our phone number to prevent a third party from having access to our account, and therefore, to our data.
Every user with an Android device has a Google account linked to their smartphone. Although there are ways to skip it, the great variety of services and benefits that it offers us becomes a very big temptation. In addition, the security improvements it brings to our account are yet another incentive, especially with regard to the protection of our personal data, such as:
- The email account and your contacts,
- Access to the cloud and all the files it contains, and
- The map and all the locations visited
As a security measure, when we access any Google service, if we have the option enabled, we will receive an alert on our phone if we identify that we are accessing the service through another device other than the usual one or if we are connecting from a location unknown.
However, what happens if we have lost our mobile phone, it is stolen or we change our number? It is possible that, if the only way to access the account again is through the mobile phone that we do not have, we may encounter problems to reset the access codes or regain control of the account.
In this situation, we will be interested in unlinking or changing the phone from the Google account to avoid problems.
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How To Disable Google Ads On Mobile
A first step we can take is to configure the account to stop receiving the Google notice each time we log in from another device or a location that is not the usual one in exceptional cases, for example, if we go on a trip and connect from another net. For it:
- We go to the configuration of our Google account and log in.
- Then, in Security, you will see the following options: Password, Use your phone to log in and Two-step verification.
- Specifically, the Two-Step Verification option is where we can disable notifications on your phone.
- By clicking on this option, it will ask us to log in again, then show the following information on the screen.
- Choose another option, we can choose additional security options, such as the security key or through a text message or voice call.
- If we want to continue the two-step verification process, we ignore the previous point and click Try Now.
- By clicking Next, they will send a notification to our phone. Afterwards, they will ask us to choose how to obtain the codes.
- If we click on Use another security option, it will allow us our codes, which will be used to access our account.
In any case, we recommend thinking twice before disabling the two-step verification option as it provides an extra layer of security for our Google account. If we still want to disable the warnings and continue to maintain the same level of security, we can do so using the security codes.
Thus, when they ask us for the verification code :
- We will click on More Options.
- We will select the option Enter one of the 8-digit security codes.
- And we will introduce one of our codes that we will have previously safe.
How To Disable Recovery Phone Number
If we continue with the intention of unlinking our mobile phone, the next step will be to delete our recovery phone number. For it:
- We go to log in and select the Security option.
- We will go to Methods to verify your identity and select recovery phone.
- From here we can delete/update our phone number or add an email for account verification.
In this way, we can continue to recover access to our account through an email and not through a notification to our phone.
How To Unlink Our Phone Number From The Google Account
Before taking this step, keep in mind that, among the benefits of linking your phone number to the Google account, is being able to log in with your device. In this way, instead of writing our email or name as credentials, our phone number and password will suffice.
- We will access our Google account again.
- We will select Personal Information.
- Then, in Contact information, we go to Telephone and click on the number where we will find the possibility of modifying or deleting the number that we had linked.
- To delete the number: select the trash can icon.
- To modify the phone number: we will click on the pencil icon. Then it will ask us to log in again.
After the process, Google will inform us that if we delete the number, some of the services may be affected.
We should know that it may take a week before we can use a new phone number to verify our identity and take certain actions, such as changing your password. This is a standard Google security procedure.
All the processes detailed above can be done on our mobile device. Accessing Settings> Google> Manage your Google account. From here, the process will be the same.
As we have seen, there are many options with which to verify the authentication of our accounts, either through another phone number, an alternative email or even security codes.
Remember that we can improve our security by applying extra measures to protect our account and the personal data stored in it with the advice and resources of OSI.
Were you aware that you could unlink your phone number? Have your phone ever been stolen or lost and you were unable to access your Google account? Share your opinion and experiences with other users and stay up-to-date with OSI’s cybersecurity publications to enjoy the benefits of technology.
