So again, I'm baffled about all the vitriol over something that's NOT even required
Because people see what they want to see, and fill in the blanks to their own musings / questions.
After all, what is not required today may become required tomorrow.
Example - Windows 10 supports, but does not require, TPM 1.3 minimum (2.0 recommended). Windows 11 does. So, people see a simple request to make your logins more secure and think "OMG, I'm never going to be able to use another Microsoft product again unless I give them my phone number!"
It's akin to "The sky is falling!" Nothing more.
You, and I, and several others have explained, and at length, why multi-factor authentication is a good, necessary thing, even using examples from our own experiences as to what happens when it is not used on an account. And yet there are posters in this thread who think they don't need it, or else flat out stubbornly refuse to use it, all because they think it is a privacy issue, instead of understanding that it is a security issue.
In old days, doorknobs didn't even have locks. Then times progressed and doorknobs started coming with locks integrated. Then times progressed more, and now, at least here in the US, modern exterior doors are fitted with both a doorknob with an integrated lock
and a deadbolt. Because, security. Not because manufacturers want to make more money off you, not because of them attempting to garner additional information that will attempt to gather data on you - but because of security, plain and simple.
So, we went from one layer of security (door with doorknob with no lock) to 2 layers of security (doorknob with lock) to 3 layers of security (door, doorknob with lock, and deadbolt).
It's a very similar thing when it comes to logins online. Nothing more.
