Use Google’s New Recovery Contacts to Get a Friend to Help You Regain Access to Your Account.
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Despite all the cybersecurity advice, I have a piece of paper with my Google account password written on it right next to my computer. Why? What if I forget it? Should I send a recovery email to my Gmail, which I can’t access? It seems Google is aware of this little problem, because while the account recovery page offers other workarounds (such as providing a mobile phone number, which you hopefully already linked to your account), the company now allows you to use friends’ and family’s email addresses to recover Google accounts .
Google calls these email addresses “Recovery Contacts,” and you can set them up right now. Just go to your Google account security settings (or click here ) to get started. On the “Recovery Contacts” page, click the button to add a contact, then choose a trusted person (you’ll see several suggestions) and send them a recovery request. Once approved, they’ll be able to help you recover your account if you’re ever unable to sign in, but they’ll need to meet a few requirements that aren’t met with a regular recovery email address.
First, the recovery contact only has seven days to accept your invitation, so if they missed your initial request, you’ll have to resubmit it. Second, if they reject your request for any reason, you’ll have to wait four days before you can resubmit it. Third, after they actually accept your request, you’ll have to wait another seven days before they can help you recover your account.
Once your friend or family member is set up as a recovery contact and the waiting period has passed, there are just a few steps left. It’s not as convenient as a standard backup email, but it’s close. When trying to recover your account, select your recovery contract from the list of recovery options or follow any Google prompts that may appear to contact them. Then, select “Get a Number.” Your recovery contact will then receive an email with three different numbers on their device. Give them the number you received within 15 minutes, ask them to select it, and you’ll be able to log back into your account on your device. Or, if you missed that time, you can simply get a different number to try again.
Please note that, as with other recovery methods, Google may require additional verification of your identity on a case-by-case basis. The company states that in this case, your account will be temporarily locked, and you’ll receive a notification that a recovery request has been made. This is a bit annoying, but the idea is that if someone else tries to use your recovery contact, you can deny them access to your account. Considering that one of the steps here requires a 1/3 chance of guessing, I suppose this makes sense. It’s still more secure than my piece of paper.
Speaking of security, if you ever find that you trust a recovery contact less than you once did, you can easily remove it from your list. Go to the “Security & Sign-in” page of your Google account, then tap “Recovery Contacts,” tap the trash can icon next to the account you want to remove, and tap “Confirm.” Note that the recovery contact will not receive standard alerts and security notifications, but it’s recommended to remove it if you no longer trust it.