There was an uproar that it would be mandatory, but Google clarified that is not the case
on May 9, 2021, 13:03
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In a nutshell: World Password Day was last Thursday. In honor of the day, Google announced that it would soon make two-factor authentication default for all Google services users. Additionally, it will automatically enroll "appropriately configured" accounts. Appropriately configured means people who already have a recovery method in place, like a secondary email or phone number.
Keeping your online accounts is of utmost importance. Yet year after year, we see the most common passwords continue to be easy to guess strings like 123456, 123456789, password, or 111111. What makes matters worse is users tend to use them on multiple accounts. Having one's email compromised is one thing, but if the same credentials are used for other sites like a bank, the consequences could be devastating. Google announced it would mitigate this risk for its users by making two-factor authentication (2FA) a default security setting.