Create an email without a phone number on a PC in 2026

Often, yes. On a Windows PC or Mac, Google's own sign-up steps list the phone number as optional, and Outlook.com lets you verify with another email address instead. The one thing a computer can't change is Google's spam check: when it decides it needs a phone, no browser setting skips it.

Short answer: you can create a Gmail account on a PC without a phone number if the form lets you skip the "Optional: Add and verify a phone number" step. If Google insists, Outlook.com is the easier route on a computer, because Microsoft accepts an email address you can open instead of a phone.

Everything below comes from Google's, Microsoft's, Apple's and Yahoo's own help pages, checked on November 4, 2026. If you're on a phone, we have separate guides for iPhone and Android.

Does Gmail ask for a phone number on a computer?

Google's Create a Google Account page has a Computer tab, and the phone step on it reads: "Optional: Add and verify a phone number for your account."

Google's Verify your account page adds the other half: "before you create an account or sign in, sometimes phone verification is required to confirm you're a real person." Google doesn't say what triggers it, on a computer or anywhere else. So a guide that promises a Windows trick to hide the screen is guessing.

The general question, with both of Google's error messages explained, is in our post on creating a Gmail without a phone number. This one sticks to what's different when you sit at a keyboard.

What each provider asks for on a PC or Mac

Provider	Where you sign up on a computer	Phone number
Gmail	Any browser, Google Account sign in page	"Optional," but "sometimes" required as a spam check
Outlook.com or Hotmail	Any browser, outlook.com	Not required; the verification contact can be an email address
Yahoo Mail	Any browser	Required: "A valid mobile number is needed"
Apple Account on a Mac	System Settings	The listed steps include "Confirm your phone number"

Yahoo says plainly on its account info page that the number is needed for "verification and account recovery," so it isn't a phone-free option on any device. Our Yahoo post has the details.

How to create a Gmail account on a PC without a phone number

These are Google's computer steps, in order, with notes on where the phone question comes up.

Open the Google Account sign in page in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, and click Create account.
Choose For my personal use from the drop down. The other choices are Child and Business.
Enter your basic info, including your birthday and gender.
Pick your Gmail address. Google suggests a few, or you can type your own in the Username field. Google won't accept a name that is already in use, one that someone used and deleted, or one "very close in structure" to an existing one. Its example: if example@gmail.com exists, examp1e@gmail.com is refused.
Enter and confirm a password. Google's password guidance suggests at least 12 characters and nothing from your personal info, which it says includes your phone number.
Click Next. This is where "Optional: Add and verify a phone number" appears. If there is a Skip option, use it.
Click Next again and follow the remaining screens to finish the account.

If step 6 shows a screen that won't move on until you enter a code, you're in the "sometimes required" case. Jump to the section below on what Google offers.

The browser settings that matter on a computer

A computer gives you more control over your browser than a phone does, and the two big providers give opposite advice about it.

Google's page on signing in on a device that's not yours says to use a private browsing window on a library computer or one you've borrowed. In Chrome, that's Profile, then Open Guest Profile. Safari, Firefox and Edge have private windows that do the same job. When you close the window, the browsing history, cookies and site data go with it.

Microsoft's page on the "Let's help you move forward" error says the reverse for its own sign-up. Its security check "often" relies on browser data, so it suggests closing InPrivate or Incognito, disabling ad blockers and tracker blockers, turning off any VPN or proxy, allowing cookies and JavaScript, and avoiding office, school or hotel networks whose IP address "may have been flagged for unusual traffic."

Microsoft's list is about Microsoft's check. Google doesn't publish a list like it. So a reasonable order on your own computer is a normal browser window on your home connection, with blockers paused while you sign up. Save Guest mode for a computer that isn't yours.

Outlook.com on a PC: use an email address instead

Microsoft's account creation page says that for a new address you "go to outlook.com and select Create free account." Pick a name at outlook.com or hotmail.com, set a password, and enter your name, birth date and country.

If a screen titled "Let's protect your account" or "Help us secure your account" appears, Microsoft's page for that screen asks for "an email address or phone number that we can send a verification code to." Type an email address. Microsoft adds that "it doesn't have to be your email or phone number," only one you can open. Copy the code from that inbox and select Verify.

The full walkthrough, including what to do when the security check keeps failing, is in our post on creating an Outlook account without a phone number.

Setting up a new Windows PC

If you're setting up a new PC and can't create a Microsoft account along the way, Microsoft's own page lists two options: "Use an existing Microsoft account to get started, then add your new account later," or "Set up your PC using a local account," and switch to a Microsoft account afterwards. Either way you can create the Outlook address later in a browser, at your own pace.

Mac users: what Apple's steps list

On a Mac, the built-in route is an Apple Account in System Settings. Apple's account creation page lists the Mac steps as birthday, email address, password, country or region, a payment method where "You can also choose None," and then "Confirm your phone number." The web route at account.apple.com asks for "a phone number that you can always access."

The steps Apple lists for a Windows PC, in the Apple Music or Apple TV app, don't include a phone step. But they start from an email address you already have, so they don't give you a new inbox. For a fresh address on a Mac, Gmail or Outlook in Safari is the simpler path.

When Google insists on a phone number

Google's verify page offers two things most guides skip:

A home phone. "If you choose the call option, you can also use your home phone number." A landline call keeps your mobile number off the account.
Someone else's number. For both of its error messages, Google suggests a number "from a friend, family member, or a different carrier."

A third route avoids Gmail entirely. On the Create account screen, click Use your existing email or phone number, enter an address you already have, and verify it with the code Google sends. That gives you a Google Account for YouTube, Drive or Calendar, but no Gmail inbox. Google says you "don't need to have a Gmail address to create a Google Account."

Avoid one shortcut. If you sign up with only a phone number, Google gives you a username "in the format username@id.gle. This is not an email address."

Recovery without a phone, once you're in

Google's sign-up ends with "Protect your account with recovery info." On a computer, Google's recovery options page gives two ways that don't involve your number:

A recovery email. Any other inbox you control.
A recovery contact. Go to Security & sign-in, then Recovery contacts, and add someone you trust by email. Google says the request lasts 7 days.

Google also warns: "Do not use a Google Voice number as a recovery phone number," because a code sent there is out of reach if you're locked out of the account. Why Google keeps asking for a number at all is covered in why does Google ask for my phone number.

An email that never asks for your number

If you'd rather skip the question completely, pick a provider that never asks it. Secria Mail's sign-up is a name, the address you want and a password, with no phone number and no card, and it works in any browser on Windows or Mac. You save a 12-word recovery phrase at sign-up, so getting back in never depends on a number. Every mailbox, free included, is protected with ML-KEM-1024 with X25519 post-quantum encryption, on by default.

The free plan has 1 GB and 2 email aliases, and tracking pixels are removed automatically and senders never see your IP address. Our email without a phone number page has more, or you can create a free account.

FAQ

Can I create a Gmail account on a PC without a phone number? Often. Google's computer steps call the phone number optional. If Google shows a verification screen you can't skip, the check is coming from Google's spam protection, not your PC, and its documented options are a call to a home phone or another person's number.

Is it easier on a laptop than on a phone? Google's rules are the same on every device. What a computer adds is control over your browser: you can use a normal window on your home connection, which is what Microsoft's own fix list recommends for its check.

Should I use incognito mode to create the account? On your own computer, Microsoft says private mode can make its security check fail. Google recommends a private window only when you sign in on a device that isn't yours.

Can I make a Google Account without a Gmail address on my computer? Yes. Click "Use your existing email or phone number" on the Create account screen and verify an address you already have. You get a Google Account, but no Gmail inbox.

Can I set up a new Windows PC without a phone number? Microsoft lists two fallbacks: start with an existing Microsoft account, or set the PC up with a local account and switch to a Microsoft account later.