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Comment by LurkersWillLurk | Hacker News Reader

I hope this purported initiative will be accessible to all users, not just to those on a whitelist. As it currently stands, I can use a security key as my second factor, but I can also receive a text message, which defeats the whole point of the key. I would love to see an option to not use SMS as my second factor.

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For your Google account you mean? You can already do that; just remove the "Voice or text message" factor from your list of 2-factor options under account settings: https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verifica...

My account, for example, is setup to allow U2F keys, Google Authenticator, and static recovery codes, but not SMS.

Don't you have to set it (SMS) up first, add other 2FA methods (e.g. U2F), and then remove SMS?

I'd prefer to never set it up in the first place.

You're right. You have to set up SMS to set up other types of 2FA, but you can remove your phone number afterwards. I think Google just doesn't want less experienced users getting locked out.

This is broken, because you absolutely know Google will keep your phone # around and linked to your account, even after deleting it from the UI. No U2F for me, cause Google has to know my phone #.. except I don't have a phone, cause I'm deaf.

Being deaf doesn't preclude you from having a phone, especially a smart phone, which has plenty of applications that do not require sound and many of which actually have accessibility features for the deaf.

True. I use an iPad mini instead, easier for me to communicate with other people, since it has a much larger screen to type on.

They have your phone number if anyone with an android phone has you in their contacts.

If he doesn't have a phone -- and, thus, no phone number -- it would be quite difficult for Google to extract it from someone else's contacts, no?

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