Most of us have a lot of digital data locked inside us Google account: email, photos, chats, documents, schedules, restaurant review. Losing access to that data can be very high on the disaster scale.
There are steps you can take before that happens to reduce the chances of you and your Google account being permanently separated. You should put as much protection as possible around the account, which includes setting up two-factor authenticationand you should review your options for restoring access should the worst-case scenario occur.
The options are now inclusive Return Addresseswhere you identify friends and relatives you trust who can help you get back to a locked account. Here’s how it works, along with information about other account recovery features you need to know.
Configure Recovery Addresses
We’ll start with the newest account recovery feature, which is Recovery Contacts. This is a list of up to 10 people you specify, and when you try to sign back into your Google account, they may be asked to confirm access in the same way that you can approve a tip on your own phone (which is useful if your phone is lostfor example).
To set up your recovery contacts, go to your Google account on the webthen click Security. This is the page where you can manage access to your account, check the apps and devices you’ve connected to, and review recent account activity. Under the list of login options, click Return addresses.
Click Add a return address start building your list. You 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. Your selected contacts must have a Google account they can access, so Gmail contacts are required here.
Once you’ve selected 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 gets a message in their inbox, with a link that is valid for seven days. They can choose to accept or ignore the request, and if they accept the deal, you’ll get a confirmation email. You also receive an email when a request is sent, to protect against someone adding redirect addresses without your knowledge or consent.
It’s a good idea to choose your regular contacts as your account recovery contacts. They should be people you can call or see in person, so that if they receive an email from Google, you can tell them what’s going on and reassure them that they’re doing it. not stolen. Google says they should be people who can reply within 15 minutes if you are having trouble with your account.
