I agree. For my own Google accounts they have been trying for months to get me to give a phone number. Neither account is under my real name though so there is no way that I will be giving them a phone number.
I get around their phone number prompts by hitting the back button and trying the login again. Sometimes I get an option to add it later so I click that. So far, I have had no problems accessing my google accounts with nothing more than a fake.name_@_gmail.com identity. The names really are pretty close to that. LOL I always login in a new window with no other tabs open and delete cookies as I close the window (Firefox). It's like a brand new world every time.
I get around their phone number prompts by hitting the back button and trying the login again. Sometimes I get an option to add it later so I click that. So far, I have had no problems accessing my google accounts with nothing more than a fake.name_@_gmail.com identity. The names really are pretty close to that. LOL I always login in a new window with no other tabs open and delete cookies as I close the window (Firefox). It's like a brand new world every time.