Maybe giving them your phone number gives Google another signal to catch hackers in another country trying to taking over your Google account. Or a malware server could be prevented from taking over tons of Google accounts? I don't want in abuse, so there are only guesses.
I don't mind giving Google my hone number to keep my data secure, and I'm in the majority, so this is a good thing IMO.
I don't mind giving Google my hone number to keep my data secure, and I'm in the majority, so this is a good thing IMO.