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Sometimes, I get this message:

There's something unusual about how you're signing in. To show that it's really you, complete the task below.

This usually happens when attempting to log in from another country, probably also happens when attempting to log in from another browser or device.

I only use my laptop (i.e. no mobile devices).

It offers phone verification (which I decline, as I don't connect my accounts to phone) and it also offers "Try another way to sign in.", which of course fails even if I enter all the correct answers.

I'm not asking how to manage to access your despite this, which is probably usually impossible in relevant cases. I'm asking, once you managed to log in from the "correct" location/browser/device:

How to disable this useless verification?

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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Actually this (called Risk-based authentication) is a very useful verification method since it prevents your Google account from being hacked by methods like phishing, keylogging etc.

However, you can disable the feature in the Google Security Settings of your account (https://myaccount.google.com/security?pli=1#activity). When you're activating the feature "Allow less secure apps" (or something like that in English. "Weniger sichere Apps zulassen" it's called in German), then the so called Risk-based authentication method will be disabled.

But again: It's not a good idea to disable Risk-based authentication on any account. Don't forget that Google won't secure your account against phishing anymore, if RBA is disabled.

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  • 2
    Where is the "Allow less secure apps" thing for sure, user180211?
    – Wesley
    Mar 24, 2018 at 19:53
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    I think this is just for G Suite business users - see support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255 which to me implies that you need an "administrator" who can turn this on and off. I assume Google aren't going to do this for individual gmail.com accounts.
    – trepidacious
    Feb 17, 2019 at 10:20
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    This risk-based authentication doesn't take certain use patterns/scenarios into account at all. Hard for me to travel back in time to use the frequently used browser when I last signed in and have no device on which I sign in regularly.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Mar 2, 2020 at 7:28
  • This answer is outdated, less secure apps has nothing to do with this. myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps
    – Pedro Lobito
    Mar 6, 2020 at 18:45
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    It's "only" a good thing for the "average" user, who doesn't know how to keep his/her phone, PC, etc safe. As IT professional, I have a different view on the matter. Having said that, Google regularly disables "allow less secure apps" settings, so it is up to the user to regularly activate it again. As to how to disable this 2FA, google policy is somewhat a mystery to me. In my case, it helped to remove the google account from my old and unused android phone. In the past he asked me to confirm my login attempt on my android phone. I use iPhone.
    – Pozzo-Balbi
    May 7, 2021 at 22:15
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How to disable this useless verification?

Replace Gmail with another webmail service:

https://alternativeto.net/software/gmail/

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2
  • This is useless if you are using Google for things other than mail...
    – Michael
    yesterday
  • @Michael No, it's just a larger endeavour.
    – Jan Kyu Peblik
    yesterday

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