Gmail requires SMS verification for creating an account

Believe me, the title of the post is not wrong. Apparently, Gmail has imposed a new restriction according to which all those users who create a new Gmail account, they will be required to send an activation code which Gmail will send to them via SMS. This practice is not something new. Infact the same approach was used in America and other countries when Gmail was not available at the global level. Google explained this new restriction in this manner:

If you’d like to sign up for a Gmail address, you need to have a mobile phone that has text-messaging capabilities.

If you don’t have a phone, you may want to ask a friend if you can use his or her number to receive a code. Also, if you know someone who already has a Gmail address, you can ask them to email an invitation to you.

One of the reasons we’re offering this new way to sign up for Gmail is to help protect our users and combat abuse. Spam and abuse protection are two things we take very seriously, and our users have been very happy with the small amount of spam they’ve received in Gmail. We take many measures to ensure that spammers have a difficult time sending their spam messages, getting these messages delivered, or even obtaining a Gmail address (spammers will often use many different addresses to send spam). Sending invitation codes to mobile phones is one way to address this, as the number of addresses created per phone number can be limited.

You may consider the following points in relation to this new restriction:

• This restriction has not been imposed at the global level.
• Also using your cell phone, you can create only a limited number of account (the upper limit is yet to be known)
• Not all countries and carriers are supported.