Which Android browser can I use so that Google will not force push-MFA? [closed]
I'm trying to avoid Google device notification-based 2-factor auth ("push MFA"), which Google keeps enabling if I log into Google websites in a browser on an Android device (even if the device has no Google account at the OS level, and even if my security settings have 2-factor auth explicitly disabled, which is very frustrating).
Is there an Android browser that will completely block Google from tracking that I have logged in on an Android device, and therefore block Google from adding the device for notification-based 2-factor auth prompts?
I tried Brave already. No luck. Also disabled Google Play services and the phone is acting poorly, but still no luck. If I log into a Google site in Chrome, Brave, FF, and Edge, Google adds device auth prompts back.
Here's a video showing the issue:
Summary of the video:
- Security settings on desktop shows 2-step verification is OFF, but prompt is enabled, and Devices shows I'm logged into Chrome Android
- I remove the Chrome login in Devices
- Security settings on desktop now shows I do not have prompt enabled after removing the Chrome login
- I show on my phone that I do not have a Google account added at the Android OS level.
- I log back into Google in the Edge browser.
- I refresh security settings on desktop and we can now see that a prompt (push MFA) is restored.
- Devices shows I'm logged into an Android browser now.
- I go to Password Manager and try to access passwords.
- It prompts me to accept the prompt on my phone (which is not possible because I do not have an OS level login).
- When I click "Try another way" the only option is to use Push MFA.
- At this point, I am clearly locked out of all other devices except the Android phone, and the only way to unlock all other devices is to remove the login in the Android browser.
- I remove the login, and go back to desktop security settings
- Desktop security settings now shows that Prompt is removed because I logged out of Edge (Chrome).
- Now when I try to access passwords in Password Manager again, this time it works with only my password.
Clearly there's a bug. If I log into an Android device, and then head out without that device, all my other devices will be unable to access passwords, etc. I will be locked out permanently until I return to sign out of the device. There's obviously something broken with what Google is doing.
So, I figured maybe if I can make Google think I'm not logging in from an Android device (f.e. another "desktop" device), then I can avoid the issue.
