Google shared my phone number

How Google Business Data Gets Edited

• Commenters confirm that anyone with a Google account can suggest edits to Maps/Search business entries: phone numbers, addresses, hours, even “permanently closed.”
• Edits are nominally “reviewed,” and if the business has claimed the profile, owners can approve/decline changes; others see them applied automatically.
• Several people note Google often favors crowdsourced or scraped data (Chamber of Commerce, websites, etc.) over owner-supplied information and may revert owner removals.

Abuse and Extortion via Listings

• Multiple examples show how this openness is weaponized:
  • Food-delivery platforms creating “shadow websites” and setting their own phone numbers on Google to hijack orders, then using this leverage to pressure restaurants into contracts.
  • Misassigned phone numbers routing customers to unrelated businesses; one recipient became angry with the innocent party.
• Some see this as bordering on fraud/extortion/racketeering; others stress enforcement and class-action hurdles, especially in Europe.

Phone Numbers, Verification, and Anti-Spam

• Strong distrust of “add your phone for security/backup” prompts; many assume numbers will eventually be used for tracking or marketing, regardless of assurances.
• Disagreement over whether phone verification meaningfully stops bots:
  • One side: numbers are scarce for normal users, so useful as friction.
  • Other side: disposable numbers are cheap and resold; phone verification becomes a profit center for spammers while harming privacy-conscious legitimate users.
• Alternatives proposed: invite-code systems with traceable but low-stakes social links, and small one-time payments as higher-friction, less-identifying checks.

What Likely Happened in This Case

• Several commenters point out the same phone number appears on the author’s CV and (previously) on their Google Play developer profile, where it was explicitly entered as a public contact.
• Plausible explanations offered:
  • Google (or a contractor) copied the publicly listed Play Store contact number into the Business Profile.
  • A third party “helpfully” added the number from another public source.
  • Less likely but feared: Google repurposed a number originally provided only for verification.

Privacy, Data Brokers, and “Hidden” Leaks

• Stories broaden the concern beyond Google:
  • Lusha and similar B2B tools ingest phone numbers via shady “contacts backup/caller ID” apps, then resell them as “GDPR-compliant” data.
  • Samsung/Truecaller-style caller-ID features can reveal sensitive labels (e.g., “Grindr”) to strangers.
• Blurring screenshots of phone numbers is criticized as ineffective; automated deblurring or simple visual inspection can often recover digits, so replacing with fake numbers before blurring is recommended.