Security

How to Remove a Phone from Trusted Devices in Google Account Settings

Sooner or later Google app will suggest you to use your device to accept and decline the access to your Google Account. If you agree, you will receive log in requests on this device when you sign in to your account on a new piece of hardware.

You will see the “Unlock your Pixel” or “Unlock your Galaxy S10” prompt on a new device, then you are to take your trusted device in hands and tap Yes to confirm that it is really you trying to log in to your Google account (Gmail, YouTube, Google Photos, or whatever from Google ecosystem).

But in some cases you may want to exclude a particular phone or tablet from the list of trusted devices.

Well, if you have the 2-step verification enabled and trusted devices feature turned on, here is what you are about to see after you’ve correctly typed your Google account password: 

Yes, Google really uses trusted devices to save you from boring and awkward typing confirmation codes each time you authorize. 

Therefore, we believe that it is reasonable to leave one or two devices that are guaranteed to be near you for authorization in Google account.

The thing is that Google sends a confirmation on multiple devices at the same time. You may see “Unlock your Pixel or iPhone 7” And those devices that are currently far away from you and out of your control should be excluded from the list of trusted devices as soon as possible.

In such a way, we can presume that if someone has your password and one of your phones at hands, that person can gain access to your Google account. 

How to Remove a Phone from Trusted Devices in Google Account Security Settings

Thus, here is how to remove an individual device (a phone or tablet) from trusted devices of your Google account, so you (or anyone else) won’t be able to use it as a second step in the 2-step verification procedure.

Follow the steps:

  • Go to the two-step verification settings: https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification
  • Type the password for your Google account:
  • Unlock one of your devices to gain access to the security settings page (if asked).
  • Turn off the toggle Get Google prompt on all the phones you’re signed in to:
  • Confirm the action by clicking on TURN OFF:
  • Once you’ve done this, you will be able to manually add and remove phones that get Google prompts:
  • Confirm deletion for each your phone:

Tips Concerning Google Account Security in Terms of Prompts and Trusted Devices

Here are some common tips for you, as we want you to keep your account safe.

Tip #1. Never sell your phones or tablets before you log out of your Google account

It concerns all devices – no matter what operating system they are running on. We actually recommend not only to sign out of Google, but factory reset your phone and take out (or format) your memory card.

Tip #2. Never Give your phone to somebody else

Switch your phone to guest mode if you really want to let your friend use it, even if it goes about a couple of minutes. This will make the user unable to even see the Google prompt.

Wrapping Up

We’d love to hear some feedback from you in the comments. Please, tell us:

  • do you use prompts as your default second step for signing in to your Google account?
  • how did you came to the issue of removing a part of your devices from the listed of trusted ones?
  • how many devices do you use to receive sign in prompts?

Thank you in advance! We appreciate your opinion! Stay secure!

Adam Swift

Adam is a real tech maniac. He likes to spend time testing phones, tablets, laptops, as well as any other technical devices, and write practical manuals on their functions. He often sleeps all day, but always works at night. Adam bought his first computer in 1999, being an absolute beginner who never held a computer mouse in his hands. He began to study Windows, constantly experimented and often crashed the operating system. But six months later, he was able to reinstall Windows 98 from a scratch on his own, fix almost any software problem on a PC, he also did hardware upgrades and realized that computers, operating systems and programs are now his biggest passion. In addition, Adam has always been a big lover of phones. With the advent of smartphones with Android OS, he began to pick at them much more than in computers. Now Adam loves to study privacy issues in instant messengers, blocking unwanted calls and other nuances related to privacy and security on the network. You can follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tunecomp

View Comments

  • This did not work for me (could be a bug in Google's system). After I deleted the phone and turned on 2-step verification, the phone re-appeared.

    • When I was preparing this guide I check everything thoroughly and carefully - it was just the way it is described. But! I did not remove ALL my devices.

      • now the google is not give the option of "turning off" google promote..

  • I can confirm that toggle no longer exists on that page where you manage 2-step verification. Apparently, as of 04/2023, you *must* log out of Google on that device in order to individually remove it from getting prompts... which means no access to Google services on that phone, unfortunately.

    Ideally, these two features (Google services | 2-step verification prompts) would be decoupled.

    Cheers,
    Rishi

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Adam Swift

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