How do I set up a Google account without a phone number?

I do not have nefarious reasons for doing so, I simply want to keep my phone number private.  I have no reason to think any SaaS or Web 2.0 company will safeguard this information to my satisfaction, so I would prefer not to give it out.  Also, if I change my phone number and decide not to update Google, I will eventually lose access to my Google accounts due to their security algorithms (but that's a story for another time).

In this particular case, I need a Google account for work purposes.  Otherwise, I am trying to de-Google my life, so I should not need to do this process more than once.

About a year ago, I tried some of the free SMS verification websites, but both Google and Twitter seem to blacklist them.

This [Q&A][1] is 7 years old, and doesn't provide a solution.  Also, enough has changed where Google always asks for a phone number.  This [Q&A][2] was downvoted and doesn't have a solution either.  Looking in an internet search (DuckDuckGo, actually), yields older methods that no longer work, or spammy looking sites.


  [1]: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/10489/how-can-i-get-around-giving-my-mobile-phone-number-to-google
  [2]: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/74819/new-gmail-account-requires-mobile-number-only-on-select-devices