Mar 08, 2026
3 min read
Create a recovery plan now to avoid losing access to your account in the future.
Many of us have tons of digital data locked in our Google Accounts: emails, photos, chats, documents, schedules, and restaurant ratings.Losing access to that data would probably be fairly high on the scale of a disaster.
There are steps you can take already to reduce the chance that you and your Google Account will be permanently disconnected.You should put the strongest possible security around your account, including setting up two-factor authentication, and consider your options for regaining access if the worst happens.
These options now include Recovery Contacts, where you specify trusted friends and relatives who can help you get back into a blocked account.Here's how it works, plus information about other account recovery features you should consider.
Set up recovery connections
We'll start with the latest account recovery feature, which is Contact Recovery.This is a list of up to 10 people that you specify, and when you try to return to your Google account, they can be asked to confirm access in the same way that you can agree to speed up your phone (which helps if you lose your phone, for example).
To set up your recovery contacts, go to your Google Account on the web, then click Security.This is the page where you can control access to your account, check the apps and devices you've linked to that account, and review recent account activity.In the list of login options, click Restore Contacts.
Click Add Recovery Contact to start building your list.Enter the email address of each person you want to add as a recovery contact, and you will be prompted on the screenYour selected contacts must have a Google account, so Gmail addresses are required here
Once you've selected someone (and you can add one person to the list at a time), click Continue and then send the request.The selected contact will receive a message in their inbox, with a link valid for seven days.They can choose to accept or ignore the request, and if they accept the deal, you'll receive a confirmation email.You will also receive an email when you submit the request, to protect against anyone adding recovery contacts without your knowledge or permission.
It's a good idea to choose people with whom you communicate regularly as recovery contacts.They should be people you can call or see in person so that when you get an email from Google, you can tell them what's going on and reassure them that it's not phishing.According to Google, they should be people who can respond within 15 minutes if you're having problems with your account.
If you're having trouble logging into your Google Account, you'll be redirected to the account recovery page, which includes recovering contacts if you've saved them.Select a contact, and you'll be given a sign that you can give them via the communication channel of your choice.They will have a prompt that needs their help, and you will be asked to enter the code that you gave them.
This is where the 15 minute window comes in, so it really should be someone you can call or text right away.Google also runs some background checks for suspicious activity, and requires you and your contact to provide additional verification information to make sure you've actually asked for help.Your recovery contacts will never be able to access your Google Account or anything in it.
Other Google Account recovery options
The Recovery Contacts feature isn't the only way to get back into a Google Account you've been locked out of, but it's one of the easiest.Assuming you have someone you can contact very quickly, they can vouch for your identity and get you back into your account within minutes.
You can find some more options on the Protecting your Google Account page.The two most important items are a backup phone number and a backup email address, which should be a cell phone number and an email address that you have access to.Make sure these details are always up to date as Google can use them to recover a locked account.
Google is a little more specific about the various methods used to recover accounts, as these accounts are difficult to access without proper authorization, but phone numbers and email addresses may be used to send links that take you back to your account or to prove that someone else hasn't tried to access your account.
Therefore, it is important to keep your recovery number and login email secure.The security around your Google account is only as strong as its weakest part, and if someone gets access to your secondary email account, they can use it to request and verify access to your main Google account.
Also on your Google account security page, you'll see an option for backup codes.Click that, and get backup codes, and you'll get 10 codes that can be used instead of two-step verification — maybe if you've lost your phone with your verification app, or you can't get codes via text for some other reason.
Obviously, if you can use these security codes to access your Google Account, maybe someone else can, too.You have the option to print or download them, and whether you store them physically or digitally, keep them in a safe place where no one else can access them.
There are enough recovery options here to give you a very good chance of accessing a Google account that you can't sign in to normally - whether you forget your password, lose your two-factor authentication device, or discover that someone else has accessed your Google account and locked you out.
