I ask inspired by experiences with Google. Google/YouTube, for as long as I can remember, always had a strange habit of assuming absolutely anyone even near to you is you. Back when I had my first YouTube account (which was also back when I was in a completely different part of the world), for the last few years of having it, it had my sister’s channel listed under “alternate accounts” and it wouldn’t even ask me for the password to log into her account, I could simply click over to it like it was nothing (led to a lot of sister rivalry moments). Of note, on a less severe scale, something akin to this mindset is also credited to leading me to witnessing a documented and verifiable triple banning of cherished accounts, how lovely.

So yeah, my first curious hypothetical question I have of the year. How common/normal would this stance be on the net, with something like 2FA where it could mean the difference between data and makeshift DNA (secondary question, does it actually work as well as touted years ago)?

  • @rdyoung
    4•10 months ago

    Numbers can belong to anyone and yes, they do “assume” that the number you enter is at the least accessible by you. It would make no sense for you to make up a number or give them a relative or friends number especially for 2fa.

    Why don’t you have a phone number? You can get a cheap prepaid phone and if you don’t want to pay for cell service you can import that number to Google Voice or other services like textnow, you could even go straight to textnow and get a free number from them. I have one that I pay like $5/year for them to hold on to just in case I feel like I need it.

    • Call me Lenny/LeniOPEnglish
      0•10 months ago

      You mean a burner phone, right? Those are good for verification but not if you regularly need something to log in with.

      • @rdyoung
        2•10 months ago

        Which is why I said you could port that number elsewhere. Google Voice, textnow, etc.

        I personally have at least 5 numbers.

        1. GV that was ported from tmo a good 15+ years ago

        2. My direct personal line

        3. My direct business line

        4)My GV business line

        1. My textnow number that I am just sitting on.

        2. I’m going to set up a family number attached to our family email.