8mo ago

Creating dummy Google accounts

I use GrapheneOS ony phone and a Mac with the security options as optimized as possible. For most of my emailing etc, I use Tuta and Proton. There are instances however, where having a Google account is beneficial (some apps for example won't download from Aurora store in anonymous mode).

Is it advisable/possible to create a dummy Google account with minimal ID/credentials? And if so, what are some best practices for doing so?

Or, do I resign myself to the fact that with more control over my data, I have to sacrifice more?

19 comments

Last time I checked, the biggest obstacle to a new anonymous Google account was their phone number verification aggressively rejecting numbers that aren't issued by well-known carriers. This includes most VoIP services, for example. If you can work around that, I expect signup would be easy.
- Use one the sms services listed in kycnot.me works for the phone number verification
- Buying a burner sim would bypass this though, shouldn't be too hard.
- I've tried a few of the SMS services online now. They either don't work or are paid. I don't mind paying for the service but I find it tedious and cumbersome.
  Wondering if perhaps a prepaid sim card paid for using a prepaid credit card would do the trick? I've used prepaid sim cards in the past and was able to get one without providing any real information on myself.
  
  Wondering if perhaps a prepaid sim card paid for using a prepaid credit card would do the trick?
  I paid cash for a dirt-cheap fliphone and a prepaid Tracfone card to set up an account with SMS but near-zero data, just for these purposes. It worked for me for google last month, but YMMV.
  
  The thing I wonder about is whether such an account can stay in your possession even after you no longer have the sim. Where I live, the simcards that don't require ID are illegal and thus you cannot guarantee that you'd stay in possession of it permanently. And even if it were legal - you'd have to be adding or spending funds to retain the sim.
- Say you're under 15yo... You'll pass... 😉🤫

Maybe I'm wrong but if I recall don't you need a phone number and such for a google account which is an identifier?
- Last time I opened a new Google account ~2019 I noticed if you did it from some countries it didn't ask for a phone number (even on a vpn). I remember Greece and Romania being two of them. It's been a while since then but it's worth a try. But you also had to receive an email within a few a hours otherwise it asked for a verification. This was all through trial and error so take it with a grain of salt of course.
- I created a google account last month, using a new chromebook hooked up to wifi. It let me create the account without a phone number, let me install software etc. Then when I rebooted, it demanded a phone number because of "suspicious traffic". (wtf?)
- Possibly, but other than that there aren't any real verification steps when entering info to create an account (you can just add bogus info).
  If there is a phone number required, I have used burner numbers in the past which may work.

I'm curious about all the people in this thread saying regarding phone numbers considering I do have an account that's just an email alias and thats it 🤔
- How old is your account? I think the phone number requirement for new signups is relatively recent.
  
  Not relatively. Been that way for maybe 8 or more years. They also monitor the number. I’ve made 3-4 accounts using one over a series of maybe 5 years and when I tired to make a new one, it blocked the number for making too many. So I can now never have a Google account unless my number changes. And the poor sod who picks up my old number is also screwed lol
  
  approximately 9 months, sometime in summer of last year

19 comments