And for those who haven't given their credit card number, as a protection against abuse or "accidental" purchases (in-app, in-game, premium content, etc.), this looks like a suspiciously-convenient-to-Google mechanism for acquiring CC data.

We were previously told that it was advisable to use YouTube under an alias, and that other personal information such as phone numbers would be used only for account verification.

Those policies were rescinded or proved to be lies.

Google have no credibility here.

> this looks like a suspiciously-convenient-to-Google mechanism for acquiring CC data.

Actually wouldn't be surprised if the newly acquired CC number appeared right away as a new means of payment in Google Play.

The problem isn't that Google is going to do something bad with your credit card, it's that because it's Google, they are training people to be okay with it everywhere else. Like when my bank sends me an email with a link to an external domain because I have a "secure" message.

Actually Google is going to do something very bad with your credit card - link your online nym to your meatspace identity so they can better surveil you. That's much worse than having to deal with a few fraudulent charges, which at most requires mailing in an affidavit.

I don't know why this is down voted. Maybe because at this point creating a Google account now requires such a link?

Aren't there some credit cards that can create virtual numbers?

Just give them a virtual number and then disable it right after registering. Then have your free trial, and only if you decide to actually subscribe, change it to a credit card number that is active.

Businesses should not be unscrupulously trying to make money off people who forgot about the product during their free trial.

I use Privacy.com to make virtual cards for this purpose.

Does privacy.com still require a debit card? That was what put me off the last time I investigated their service.

It did the last time I looked into it.

I went to set up a privacy.com virtual card for a semi-sketchy site, only to have privacy deny the charge as it was for a "high risk" site.

Yeah, I KNOW, that's why I wanted to use a virtual card. That ended my brief foray into privacy.com

Yes, their business model is charging merchants at credit card rates (~3%), and billing you at debit card rates (~0.1%).

only work for US, alas

It might not be that dangerous right now, but it sets a bad precedent. It gets users accustomed to that, and gives bad actors a cover for their activities: Look, Google does it!