If you are trying to create a new email address with Gmail and Yahoo and don’t have any contact number then your wish cannot be fulfilled anymore as providing a phone/mobile number has been made mandatory by these companies for creation of new ids.
Gmail and Yahoo, the largest free email providers across the sphere, have made an alteration into their security regulations. Creation of new email addresses with this service provider will require a phone number in order to keep a check on spams.
If anyone wants to create a new email id with Gmail and Yahoo, he/she will definitely need to provide a valid telephone number for verification purpose. According to the representative of Google India it was originally optional that the user needs to give a telephone number but if someone repeatedly skips the mobile requirement field while creating new id, the operation failed. The Gmail website said, “In an effort to protect our users from abuse, we sometimes ask users to prove they’re not a robot before they’re able to create or sign in to accounts. Having this additional confirmation via phone is an effective way to keep spammers from abusing our systems.”
A person, with a single phone number, can create a limited number of accounts with Google but it has not been specified yet what is the maximum number of email accounts which can be created. Gmail gives the option to choose between telephone and mobile number, but for Yahoo users a mobile number is compulsory. As explained by the Yahoo spokesperson, “At Yahoo, we are committed to the security of our users. We ask our users to provide their mobile number at register as a secondary means of authentication, in addition to their password. We would only use the number if we see any unusual activity on the account.”
This move by Gmail and Yahoo has not been well-accepted by Internet Service Providers relationship of India as they are of the opinion that making a phone number compulsory means chances of exposing an individual’s privacy grows higher. ISPAI president Rajesh Chharia said, “This is an attack on user’s privacy. This should not happen. If they (Gmail and Yahoo) are doing such a thing, then this must be recognised by Indian government on how they are collecting phone numbers.”
