When people started calling my personal mobile number with questions about a voluntary organisation I'm involved with, I was confused: we weren't sharing that number. It turns out that Google had decided to take the number I used to verify my identity for Google Business some years prior and start putting it in Google Search results. WTF, Google?
  • Lovable SidekickEnglish
    1•6 days ago

    The phone company definitely did charge extra for unlisted numbers. The number lookup service, which was just called “Information”, was accessed by dialing 411 - the origin of “What’s the 411?” In the olden days you got a human being, then they automated it with voice recognition. In most places 411 doesn’t exist anymore but it was in service until only a few years ago.

    • gian English
      1•6 days ago

      Wait, I suspect that we don’t live in the same country.
      In Italy keeping the number unlisted was free (you just needed to declare it when you were signing the contract) and I have no memory of something like the 411.