Starting to hate Google

[bad company]

I had a Google account which I didn’t use much but signed in from time to time. Anyway Google then decided that I lived in the United Arab Emirates rather than the UK so my searches were a bit weird. Thought I’d sign in to change it but Google decided that the password I used previously and saved in LastPass was wrong. Tried to reset but no, I was locked out.

I thought the best thing to do was set up a new Google account and use that. All fine and searches not working as UK based. Then I wanted to sign in again but although the password for the new account is correct they reckon there was ‘unusual activity on my account’ so give a number to text an SMS code, bit of faff but ok. Now they’ve decided that my mobile number (the one I gave when I opened the account) cannot be used for verification:-

[This phone number cannot be used for verification"
If you see this error message, you'll have to use a different number. In an effort to protect you from abuse, we limit the number of accounts each phone number can create.

I tried using Mrs BC’s number but that brought the same response.

Anyone know how to get my account back please?

[Corso Marche]

That sounds very much as if your phone numbers have already been used for recovery on a few Google accounts.

Might help;
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7682439...

[bad company]

Corso Marche said:

That sounds very much as if your phone numbers have already been used for recovery on a few Google accounts.

Might help;
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7682439...

Thanks. Yes I have used that number previously but what other number should I give them? We’re away at the moment but I’ll try using my landline number when I get home. Can’t see why that would work though as they’ll have no way of knowing it’s my number.

Glad I don’t rely on Google for my main email etc.

[Mr Whippy]

I bought a random sim for setting up all these junky confirmations with MS, Google etc.

However Google weren't happy with my burner number. MS were ok with it.


I've noticed Google infesting everything and wanted a 'burner' type Google account for YouTube and the auto-logon it seems to use via cookies on other websites (viewing as Google user XYX), rather than my actual named email account.

I've tried to set up an account but my "burner" number won't work. My main phone number has been used already so that won't work.


Basically Google just want you to hammer all your friends, family and landline phone numbers to scrape personal data and network. Google probably have ghost accounts for everyone just like Facebook, and fill in all the gaps with phone numbers.


I'm trying to sack off my named Google account and replace it with a generic junk account just for YouTube and random stuff, but trying to actually create an account that is for such purposes now is very difficult.
Tempted to just sack off the YT account too and store my favourite channels and stuff as favourites.

[Corso Marche]

For perspective, I've quite a few Google accounts, some generic 'burner' accounts as referred to above. I created a new one just a month or so ago for using Strava on an old device for logging routes etc. I now have enough Google accounts so as prepaid unregistered phone numbers from 5 different countries across 2 continents are in use. Not run into difficulties or hassles yet accessing these accounts when necessary.

[bad company]

Corso Marche said:

For perspective, I've quite a few Google accounts, some generic 'burner' accounts as referred to above. I created a new one just a month or so ago for using Strava on an old device for logging routes etc. I now have enough Google accounts so as prepaid unregistered phone numbers from 5 different countries across 2 continents are in use. Not run into difficulties or hassles yet accessing these accounts when necessary.

I can see how that would work for you. Mrs BC and I have a mobile number each which Google have rejected. When I get home on Sunday I’ll try again by giving them my landline number but after that I’m done.

What a crazy system which must result in millions of dormant Google accounts/addresses.

[Corso Marche]

Open the link I posted above, navigate to the support section, and post a request for help. See what happens... There'll be a higher degree of product knowledge over there as it's more focused.

[bad company]

Corso Marche said:

Open the link I posted above, navigate to the support section, and post a request for help. See what happens... There'll be a higher degree of product knowledge over there as it's more focused.

Thanks. I did that this morning, they’ll apparently respond in 2 working days.

[steve-V8s]

It is a bizarre and enduring mystery to me why anybody uses google at all. There are plenty of search engines that return the answer to your search rather than the answer which is most commercially appropriate for google.

[bigandclever]

steve-V8s said:

It is a bizarre and enduring mystery to me why anybody uses google at all. There are plenty of search engines that return the answer to your search rather than the answer which is most commercially appropriate for google.

OP’s not really talking about google as a search engine. Anyway, who do you recommend?

[Das speck]

Google can fk off!

I had a incident with them, it started off with me opening an account to buy an app that was only available on google play.

I bought 1 item and needed to buy 2 more items and they froze my account and asked for photo Id and a bank statement!! Yeh you can fk off!

So I thought I’d side step and buy a giftcard any buy the other 2 items. So bought a £86 google play voucher. Yep fked again - google pay is not the same as google play.

So utterly pissed off I tried to close the account nope, so in a final fk you i changed all the info to be incorrect and I rolled the age button to whatever! Yep fked again - google done something and all I get is looking at traffic lights and bikes and buses all the fking time!!

I hate google

[steve-V8s]

bigandclever said:

OP’s not really talking about google as a search engine. Anyway, who do you recommend?

My preference is to enter the url directly. If I physically go to the bank or a shoe shop or wherever I don't feel the need to call an enormous marketing company to tell them before setting off. However if a search engine is needed Duck DucK has been the default for some years.

My absolute avoidance of all things google came about when a customer wanted a Graphic user interface. A platform running android seemed ideal, Google make it wonderfully easy to fairly quickly bash out a bit of code to get a nice shiny result. It seemed however very difficult if not impossible to implement without giving google access to the end user's data. For that reason I use my own operating system which has no requirement to constantly refer to a sinister server somewhere, it is also faster and smaller.

Edited by steve-V8s on Sunday 20th September 10:06

[bigandclever]

steve-V8s said:

bigandclever said:

OP’s not really talking about google as a search engine. Anyway, who do you recommend?

if a search engine is needed Duck DucK has been the default for some years.

So..

steve-V8s said:

the answer which is most commercially appropriate for google DuckDuckGo.

.. then. Fair enough

[TonyRPH]

Das speck said:

Google can fk off!

I had a incident with them, it started off with me opening an account to buy an app that was only available on google play.

I bought 1 item and needed to buy 2 more items and they froze my account and asked for photo Id and a bank statement!! Yeh you can fk off!

So I thought I’d side step and buy a giftcard any buy the other 2 items. So bought a £86 google play voucher. Yep fked again - google pay is not the same as google play.

So utterly pissed off I tried to close the account nope, so in a final fk you i changed all the info to be incorrect and I rolled the age button to whatever! Yep fked again - google done something and all I get is looking at traffic lights and bikes and buses all the fking time!!

I hate google

They are protecting you and your account with these measures.

Your other activity was indicative of a compromised account and fraudulent activity, so it's no small wonder they put barriers up.

You'd soon enough come crying if it was insecure and your account was used fraudulently.

[Piersman2]

I've finally cracked and removed Google as my default search engine in the browsers of my various laptops.

Why? Got sick of the popup message at every single fresh access of Google that started about 2 weeks ago.

Switched to DuckDuckGo instead.

[bad company]

Google sent me this. I have no idea how I could possibly have violated their terms buy hey ho. Anyway I’m back into the account now. What a shower of ****.

Hello Google user,

Your account was disabled due to a violation of our Terms of Service. Please try signing into your account and typing the letters in the distorted picture.

You can read more about our policies and the types of violations that would lead us to limit account access or disable accounts in our Terms of Service.

Best,

The Google Accounts Team

[TonyRPH]

bad company said:

I had a Google account which I didn’t use much but signed in from time to time.

An ideal target for hackers - as once the account gets compromised, they are able to see it's relatively unused, just by looking at the email dates etc.

bad company said:

Anyway Google then decided that I lived in the United Arab Emirates rather than the UK so my searches were a bit weird. Thought I’d sign in to change it but Google decided that the password I used previously and saved in LastPass was wrong. Tried to reset but no, I was locked out.

This is reason enough to suspect the account was hacked.

bad company said:

I thought the best thing to do was set up a new Google account and use that. All fine and searches not working as UK based. Then I wanted to sign in again but although the password for the new account is correct they reckon there was ‘unusual activity on my account’ so give a number to text an SMS code, bit of faff but ok. Now they’ve decided that my mobile number (the one I gave when I opened the account) cannot be used for verification:-

[This phone number cannot be used for verification"
If you see this error message, you'll have to use a different number. In an effort to protect you from abuse, we limit the number of accounts each phone number can create.

I tried using Mrs BC’s number but that brought the same response.

Anyone know how to get my account back please?

It's not exactly clear.

So have you got back into the original account now, or this new account you created?

If back in the original account, it would be a good idea to check what telephone numbers are in the settings.

Your problems when attempting to access the second account were likely caused by your (failed) attempts to access the original account, as they will be fingerprinting your device - so said device was potentially 'blacklisted' by the attempts to access the first account.

[bad company]

TonyRPH said:

It's not exactly clear.

So have you got back into the original account now, or this new account you created?

If back in the original account, it would be a good idea to check what telephone numbers are in the settings.

Your problems when attempting to access the second account were likely caused by your (failed) attempts to access the original account, as they will be fingerprinting your device - so said device was potentially 'blacklisted' by the attempts to access the first account.

Interesting, thanks.

I’m now able to access the new account I opened last week. I have no way of accessing the previous accounts to check but I will have used the same phone number.

[Das speck]

TonyRPH said:

They are protecting you and your account with these measures.

Your other activity was indicative of a compromised account and fraudulent activity, so it's no small wonder they put barriers up.

You'd soon enough come crying if it was insecure and your account was used fraudulently.

Why would google need a copy of id and a bank statement when I used my debit card to buy something from google whatever???

They took 1 payment and bounced the rest and demanded ID.

If you trust your details to google good luck to you - I bet you answer all the”what’s pornstar name” your first pets name - stuff on Facebook?

[Corso Marche]

@ Das Speck

Do you use a VPN?