Starting last year, Android users have been seeing the \u201cnumber is now verified\u201d system notification more frequently. And in some cases people even find mysterious outgoing text messages in their history that they never sent.<\/p>\n
These messages often cause confusion<\/a> and even anxiety: has a virus infected the phone? Are tech giants spying on our phone numbers? Let\u2019s break down how this feature works, and what potential risks it poses to your privacy.<\/p>\n The notification pops up whenever Google\u2019s phone number verification feature is triggered on your device.<\/p>\n Its main job is to make sure that the SIM card tied to a specific phone number is physically inside the phone. Once verified, that phone number automatically links to all<\/strong> active Google accounts on the device.<\/p>\n There are several key services that rely on the verification. Most importantly, it drives Rich Communication Services (RCS)\u00a0\u2014 the modern standard for \u201crich\u201d messaging right inside your standard text messaging app. It feels like a popular chat app, but without the need to install anything extra. Unlike iMessage, which is locked to Apple\u2019s ecosystem, RCS works across compatible smartphones on various platforms since it\u2019s an industry standard set by carriers rather than tech giants. Since recently, both Apple and Android users have been able to exchange RCS messages. For this feature to work in the Google Messages app, Google needs ongoing confirmation that your SIM card is active. If you pull out your SIM card, RCS chats will keep working for about eight days before turning off automatically.<\/p>\n According to Google<\/a>, phone number verification serves several other purposes as well:<\/p>\n Google also recently confirmed that this data is used to counter scams<\/a>. Verification helps block calls or text messages from spoofed numbers if both the real owner of the number and the recipient are using Android devices with verified phone numbers.<\/p>\n Phone number verification technology has been around on Android for quite some time\u00a0\u2014 Google was sending test SMS messages as far back as in 2019<\/a>. However, it became widely visible to most users following a Google system update in September 2025<\/a>. The process was baked deeper into the operating system, with number verification now running by default during initial phone setup, and re-running periodically in the background.<\/p>\n There are two main technical methods for the verification process. Which one your device uses depends on your mobile carrier and your version of Android.<\/p>\n The older method relies on hidden text messages. In the background, your smartphone sends a specialized technical text message to Google\u2019s servers. The operating system intercepts this message before you ever see it, which is why it rarely appears in your standard text messaging app. However, due to software glitches or Android customization quirks, these texts occasionally surface in sent messages, startling users. They typically look like this: \u201c(string of letters and numbers) Google is re-verifying the phone# of this device.\u201d Google explicitly notes in its help documentation that standard messaging rates from your carrier may apply.<\/p>\n In recent years, direct carrier verification (via carrier APIs) has become the primary verification method. This approach is more modern and secure than previous ones. The smartphone sends an encrypted token containing device and SIM card identifiers to the mobile carrier, and the carrier responds with the confirmed phone number. The whole process takes just a couple of seconds and runs completely unnoticed by the user. Both global telecom giants and smaller providers have connected to this verification network. Notably, third-party apps can also tap into the results of this check through Firebase Phone Number Verification<\/a>, getting confirmation from your mobile carrier about which phone number is active on the device.<\/p>\n In its official documentation, Google notes that device identifiers and SIM card data may be collected during verification. In practice, this refers to unique identifiers for the SIM card and its subscriber profile (ICCID and IMSI), as well as technical device identifiers needed to run mobile networks. Google also explicitly states that it does not sell your personal information, including your phone number, to anyone.<\/p>\n Naturally, sending additional unique identifiers to Google\u00a0\u2014 especially given the scale of its advertising business\u00a0\u2014 always raises concern among privacy-conscious users. Here\u2019s what you should keep in mind:<\/p>\n Metadata collection.<\/strong> To run RCS, Google exchanges data with your mobile carrier. Even when the content of RCS messages is encrypted<\/a>, metadata\u00a0\u2014 such as who is messaging whom and when\u00a0\u2014 can still be stored on your carrier\u2019s servers, and in some cases, on Google\u2019s servers. As cybersecurity experts at the Electronic Frontier Foundation point out<\/a>, if privacy is your top priority, you\u2019re better off sticking to dedicated encrypted messaging apps.<\/p>\n Linked accounts.<\/strong> If you have both a personal and a work Google account (or a personal and a family account) set up on the same phone, the verified number will automatically link to both profiles. The operating system does not offer built-in tools to separate numbers for different accounts on a single device.<\/p>\n Phone number leaks.<\/strong> Apps on your device can already access various user identifiers, including your phone number. However, this verification system makes it easier to link multiple phone numbers to a user who has multiple Google accounts. And while Google states that it never sells phone numbers, you cannot say the same with confidence about obscure third-party Android developers.<\/p>\n On by default.<\/strong> The feature is enabled out of the box, and most users have no idea their device is silently querying their carrier in the background. While you can opt out in your Google settings once you notice it, there\u2019s no guarantee that any data already collected will actually be deleted.<\/p>\n For most users, verification is genuinely helpful. It simplifies account recovery, makes finding a lost phone easier, powers modern text messaging features, and assists emergency services when every second counts.<\/p>\n However, if you want to minimize the amount of metadata sent to Google, mobile carriers, and other data brokers<\/a>, you can manually disable the feature. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n If you also want to disable Better sharing on Google<\/em>, go to Settings<\/em> \u2192 Google<\/em> \u2192 Manage your Google Account<\/em> \u2192 Personal info<\/em> \u2192 Contact info<\/em> \u2192 Phone<\/em>, select your number, and turn off the setting.<\/p>\n If you have multiple Google accounts on your phone, you\u2019ll need to repeat these steps for each one. Unfortunately, verification sometimes turns itself back on<\/a> automatically, and there\u2019s no reliable way to prevent this on standard consumer phones with stock software.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that disabling verification means losing access to RCS chats in Google Messages\u00a0\u2014 forcing you to fall back on basic SMS, or switch to alternative secure messaging apps. You also won\u2019t be able to use that number for quick account recovery should you forget your password.<\/p>\n To thoughtfully customize your privacy settings across all your devices \u2014 regardless of the operating system, browser, or app \u2014 check out our free online tool, Privacy Checker<\/a>.<\/p>\n Curious about other privacy risks you might not even know exist? Check out our other deep dives, here:<\/p>\n Who sends regular hidden requests from your smartphone and why, how phone number verification works, and whether you should turn it off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2722,"featured_media":56163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[105,2534,22,607,43,726,97,874,46,422],"class_list":{"0":"post-56162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tips","8":"tag-android","9":"tag-geolocation","10":"tag-google","11":"tag-messengers","12":"tag-privacy","13":"tag-scam","14":"tag-security-2","15":"tag-sim","16":"tag-sms","17":"tag-threats"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/google-phone-verification-rcs-2026\/56162\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/google-phone-verification-rcs-2026\/42332\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/google-phone-verification-rcs-2026\/30876\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/tag\/android\/","name":"Android"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2722"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56167,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56162\/revisions\/56167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why all these phone number verifications?<\/h2>\n
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How does Google verify phone numbers?<\/h2>\n
\u201cOther device data\u201d and privacy concerns<\/h2>\n
Turning off verification\u00a0\u2014 why and how<\/h2>\n
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