Google is rolling out a new Recovery Contact feature designed to help you regain access to your Google account if you ever get locked out. Whether you’ve forgotten your password, lost your phone, or can’t access your passkey, this new option lets you enlist the help of a trusted friend or family member to verify your identity.
I highly recommend setting up a recovery contact if you use an Android phone, Gmail, or any other Google service. There’s a tremendous amount of personal and financial information tied to your Google account – from photos and contacts to saved passwords and payment methods – so losing control of that account can mean being largely locked out of your digital life.
That said, this feature requires a level of trust. Google says your contact can’t directly access your account, but in practice, anyone who receives your recovery code could potentially misuse it. So, this isn’t a role for a casual acquaintance; it’s for someone you know well and can rely on to do the right thing. Ideally, that’s someone you talk to regularly, who will respond to your request for help quickly, and who will notice if a recovery request seems suspicious.
How to Set Up a Recovery Contact
Adding a recovery contact takes less than a minute and could save you hours of frustration later. You shouldn’t put this off, because there’s a seven-day waiting period before you can use a new Recovery Contact to gain access to your account.
- Visit the Recovery Contact page while signed in to your Google Account.
- Select “Add recovery contact” and choose a trusted person from your contacts list.
- Your contact will receive an email or notification asking them to accept the role. They have seven days to accept. Once they do, they’ll be listed as your recovery contact.
You can add up to 10 Recovery Contacts and be the Recovery Contact for up to 25 people. However, I recommend limiting your Recovery Contacts to just a few people. If you change your mind about someone being your Recovery Contact, you can go back to the Recovery Contact page and revoke the invitation.
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How to Use a Recovery Contact When You’re Locked Out of Your Account
When you get locked out of your Google account, you’ll be redirected to the account recovery page. That is where you’ll find the option to use your Recovery Contact.
- Select the option to use a Recovery Contact from the list of ways to gain accessvand a person from your Recovery Contacts list. (You may need to select “Try another way” a few times to see the option.)
- Tap “Get number” and you will see a number that you will need to share with your Recovery Contact. At this point, Google will send a verification request to your Recovery Contact to confirm your identity.
- Get in touch with your Recovery Contact and give them the number. They will see three different numbers when they respond to Google’s verification request. To confirm your identity, they have to select the number on their device that matches the one you give them.
Once they select the correct number out of the three numbers, you’ll gain access to your account. Note that the number expires in 15 minutes, so you may need to request a new number if you can’t reach them right away.
The Bigger Picture
Recovery Contacts are in keeping with Google’s broader shift toward passwordless account security, alongside features like passkeys. These tools make logging in faster and safer, but they also raise the stakes if you lose access to your trusted devices. Having at least one Recovery Contact adds a human safety net.
Recovery Contacts are rolling out now to personal Google accounts, and you can check your eligibility by visiting the Recovery Contact page.
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[Image credit: Google]
