I'm reminded of how much I hate Google

I've long since deleted my other accounts but can't sign in to my main and oldest one because it can't "verify" me so I'm basically locked out even though I still have access to gmail via IMAP.

They usually force additional verification with a phone number/app but I intentionally never linked those to my account for privacy. My options are a random answer to a security question that I don't remember because I made it when I was barely a teen, or signing in from a "known location". You can't opt out of this this additional "security" or forced MFA bullshit and I certainly never opted in.

I've mostly moved away from using anything Google and have moved to more private and free alternatives like Proton, self-hosted, etc but I'm frustrated. I hate them so much on so many levels.

That's it, I'm not looking for advice or anything. I'll figure it out eventually. Just wanted to vent a little bit.