Many of us There’s a lot of digital data locked away in our Google accounts: emails, photos, chats, documents, schedules, restaurant reviews. Losing access to this data is likely to be quite high on a disaster scale.
There are steps you can take beforehand to reduce the chances of you and your Google Account being permanently separated. You should maintain the tightest possible security around the account, including two-factor authentication, and review your options for regaining access, should the worst happen.
These options now include Recovery contactswhere you specify friends and relatives you trust who can help you get back into a locked account. Here’s how it works, as well as information about other account recovery features you need to be aware of.
Set up recovery contacts.
We’ll start with the newest feature for account recovery, which is Recovery Contacts. This is a list of up to 10 people you specify, and when you’re trying to get back into your Google Account, they can be asked to confirm access in the same way you’d normally approve a prompt on your phone (which is helpful if you lose your phone, for example).
To set up your recovery contacts, go to Your Google Account on the webthen click Security. This is the page where you can control access to your account, check the apps and devices you’ve linked to it, and review recent account activity. Below the list of sign-in options, click Recovery contacts.
Click Add a recovery contact. To start building your list. You’ll need to enter the email addresses of everyone you want to add as a recovery contact, and you’ll be given some suggestions on the screen. The contacts you select must have a Google Account that they have access to, so Gmail addresses are required here.
Once you’ve picked someone (and you can only add one person to the list at a time), click . Continue And then Send a request.. The selected contact then receives a message in their inbox, containing a link that is valid for seven days. They can choose to accept or ignore the request, and if they agree to the deal, you’ll receive a confirmation email. You also receive an email when the application is sent, to prevent anyone from adding recovery contacts without your knowledge or consent.
It’s a good idea to choose people you stay in touch with regularly as your recovery contacts. They should be people you can call or see in person, so that when they get an email from Google, you can tell them what’s going on and reassure them that they’re not being scammed. Google says they need people who can. Answer in 15 minutes. If you’re having trouble with your account.