Google Introduces Feature Allowing Friends to Assist in Account Password Recovery

New Google Recovery Feature: Enlist Friends and Family for Account Access

Realizing you’ve lost your Google account password or misplaced your device containing essential passkeys can be quite distressing. To mitigate this issue, Google has introduced an innovative safety feature that allows your trusted friends or family members to assist you in regaining access to your account.

Adding Recovery Contacts to Your Google Account

If you’re interested in using this feature, you can easily add Recovery Contacts by navigating to the My Account section and selecting the Security tab. Under the “How to sign in to Google”section, you’ll find the option for Recovery Contacts.

How the Recovery Process Works

In the event that you encounter problems accessing your account, Google will send an email or notification to your designated Recovery Contacts. After a failed login attempt, you’ll be directed to the account recovery page, where you can identify your recovery contact to generate a recovery code. This code must then be shared quickly with the contact via email or notification to proceed with the recovery process.

Managing Recovery Contacts

Each Google account can have up to 10 Recovery Contacts at any given time. After a contact is added, they have a seven-day window to accept the invitation. However, once they accept, they will only be able to assist you in your recovery efforts for a limited period of seven days. To maintain ongoing access, you’ll need to either renew the request or select a different recovery contact after this period.

Best Practices for Choosing Recovery Contacts

Google emphasizes the importance of selecting a reliable recovery contact who can respond swiftly—ideally within 15 minutes—when you need assistance. While it is vital to choose someone trustworthy, Google assures users that these contacts will not have any access to your account or personal information.

Important Considerations

It’s important to note that you cannot add a recovery contact if you are currently locked out of your account or undergoing the account recovery process. Furthermore, Google Workspace users and those enrolled in the Advanced Protection Program are unable to add recovery contacts, although they can serve as recovery contacts for other eligible users.

Distinguish this feature from the recovery email option, which typically involves an alternative email address you control for identity verification and alerting about suspicious login attempts.

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