Gyroscopic Investing

Something I've noticed within the past 6 months or so is that e-mail services--at least Gmail and Hotmail, from what I can tell--are starting to show a screen when you login that asks you to provide your cell phone number and sometimes also an alternate e-mail address.

The supposed main reason for this, according to the e-mail services, is that it reduces the hassle associated with forgotten passwords.

However, the cynic in me suspects that the real reason this information is being requested is so that more behind-the-scenes data can be gathered on us to improve their ad targeting. I have a hard time believing that the hassle associated with forgotten passwords only became an issue within the past 6 months.

The whole thing really annoys me, because they don't provide a clear "No Thanks" button for those who wish to opt out. I discovered that you just opt out by clicking on the "Save" button without entering anything into the blank fields. You'd think that would be the end of it, but no... they frequently re-request the information when I log in. They just aren't getting the hint. I'd rather not provide a fake phone number for a variety of reasons, but it's looking like that's the only thing I can do to avoid the constant nagging.

Am I alone in my frustration over this new intrusion of privacy--a thinly veiled attempt to more efficiently mine data on every aspect of our lives by cross-linking e-mail addresses and phone numbers?

The Gmail 2-factor authentication service is pretty nice.  It sends you a text message on your cellphone with a 6 digit code when you login from a computer you've never logged in from in the last 30 days.  This is an extra layer of protection on your email which is pretty critical, considering that someone might use it to reset your brokerage account passwords and transfer money.

I'm actually irritated more when checkout counter employees ask for my phone number since there's obviously no benefit to me. With email, at least there's this convenience perk, and Storm's absolutely 100% right about Gmail's 2-factor authentication. The recent widely publicized "hack" of a tech blogger's digital identity wouldn't have done nearly so much damage had he enabled this security measure for his gmail account, and it wouldn't have been able to proceed at all if his Amazon and Apple accounts had it available and he turned it on there too.