• fonix232@fedia.io
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    17 hours ago

    phone numbers were already an almost mandatory addition to new Google accounts. You need to set up 2FA when you make a new account, and the option to use an authenticator app is so well hidden… meanwhile Google still wants your phone number “to authenticate you”, even though it’s less secure than storing your password on a post it on your phone.

    • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      I work with homeless people and I discovered you can no longer make email without a cell phone with any major provider. I can’t get them into their social security without an email.

      I was able to find an email provider that didn’t require a cell phone, but then you had to use a cell phone to get past the verification on the social security site. You are absolutely fucked without a cell phone now.

        • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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          1 hour ago

          i have mail.com, i found that in mid 2000s, before 2021, they use to never delete your account if you dint use it for a while, but now its every 6 months if you dont have activity the account will be deleted. i was initially using that for resume, just a warning if you intend to keep an address and use it once in a while. i had to move some of my stuff back to google around that same time they made changes.

          • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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            56 minutes ago

            apparently they both will delete your account after 6 months of inactivity. i had mail.com accounts since mid 2000s, and they have deleted quite a few of mines after they made that change(from permanent email before 2020,inactivity to every 6 months), just be warned if you dont use or login, your accts get deleted, they wont help you after that.

      • TotalCourage007@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        Thats really twisted. They really want to make not owning a cell spy a crime. Every time I learn something new about Surveillance it makes me more anarchist.

        • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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          12 hours ago

          The problem is that it isn’t an intentional design decision. It just happens to be the easiest way to add a “cost” to sign-up.

        • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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          13 hours ago

          Proton doesn’t work with social security website unfortunately. I ended up using Tuta mail but then later got stuck on Login.gov because it required either a cell phone to verify by taking pictures of ID or a desktop with a camera for a video call.

          Needless to say this is not something someone with no computer skills can accomplish. What is even worse is the local social security office stopped taking walk-ins. The solution? You guessed it, use the social security site to login and request an appointment…

    • purplemonkeymad@programming.dev
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      14 hours ago

      I tried to make a second account recently, and it wanted me to scan a qr code with my phone that then wanted to send me a text message. At the same time they were saying “this won’t associate your phone with the account.” I don’t believe that.

      • Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca
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        12 hours ago

        believe nothing any company claims… assume whatever they claim is a lie, and they are about to defraud you because we’ll… that’s all they know how to do… illegal activities, mislead, fraud…