> A month ago I was asked in a surprise email to verify my age for YouTube with a credit card, which I did to avoid landing in support hell later on, because I publish browser extensions with the Google account.
> I rarely log in, and I wasn't using the Google account at the time the email was sent, nor do I ever use the attached YouTube account. The card was saved in Google Payments without my consent.
> I live in the EU. Their support page mentions that they will ask for age verification when you attempt to watch a restricted video, but I was not using the YouTube account.
> https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10070779
> Then there's also the question of creating a payment profile for the user without consent.
> > If you enter your credit card info for age verification, Google will retain this data as necessary to meet legal and regulatory requirements.
> https://support.google.com/accounts?p=age-verify
> Meeting legal requirements is very different from saving your card in Google Payments, which then you can readily use to buy products in any Google service.
They are hopelessly deceptive, and will not shy away from breaking the law every step of the way just to prop up other Google services.